Born at L’Isle-Verte, Lower Canada, she is considered the first Quebec woman to earn her living as a journalist. She was well known in Montreal society as a feminist lecturer and writer. In 1891 Barry joined the staff of the weekly newspaper La Patrie, writing a column for almost 10 years using the pen name Françoise. Later she founded Le Journal de Françoise (1902-1909). She also published two books - Fleurs Champetes (1895) and LesChroniques du Lundi (1900). In 1900 she was a Canadian government representative at the Paris International Exhibition and also at the 1906 Universal Exposition in Milan. In 1904 the government of France named her Officer de l’Académie. That year she was also one of 16 founding members of the Canadian Women’s Press Club and its first vice-president. In 1910 Barry was named inspector of women’s working conditions in industry but died suddenly of a stroke a few months later. A journalism prize, a Montreal Street and a scholarship in Abitibi, Quebec honour her memory..