16th Quebec Premier. A member of the Conservative Party of Quebec, he served in this position from August 1936 until November 1939 and again from August 1944 until his death. The son of a local politician, he received his education from the Séminaire Saint-Joseph de Trois-Rivières and Laval University in Montreal, Ontario, Canada, from which he graduated with a law degree. In 1913 he was admitted to the bar and practiced law in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, Canada. In February 1923 he entered politics when he was elected to the Quebec Legislative Assembly from Trois-Rivières and held that seat until his death. In August 1936 his Party won the general election and he became Premier, replacing Adélard Godbout. In the 1939 general election, his government was defeated and Godbout replaced him as Premier. His Party regained power in the 1944 general election and he once again replaced Godbout as Premier, and remained in office for the next 15 years. He was the last Quebec premier to have won three or more consecutive majority governments and his era would become known as "The Great Darkness." During his tenure, he opposed military conscription and Canada's involvement in World War II, championed rural areas, provincial rights and anti-Communism, and was opposed to trade unions and Jehovah's Witnesses. While visiting the Iron Ore Company of Canada in Schefferville, Quebec, he died as a result of a stroke at the age of 69 and was succeeded by Paul Sauvé. A statue in his honor resides outside of Quebec's Parliament Building.
16th Quebec Premier. A member of the Conservative Party of Quebec, he served in this position from August 1936 until November 1939 and again from August 1944 until his death. The son of a local politician, he received his education from the Séminaire Saint-Joseph de Trois-Rivières and Laval University in Montreal, Ontario, Canada, from which he graduated with a law degree. In 1913 he was admitted to the bar and practiced law in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, Canada. In February 1923 he entered politics when he was elected to the Quebec Legislative Assembly from Trois-Rivières and held that seat until his death. In August 1936 his Party won the general election and he became Premier, replacing Adélard Godbout. In the 1939 general election, his government was defeated and Godbout replaced him as Premier. His Party regained power in the 1944 general election and he once again replaced Godbout as Premier, and remained in office for the next 15 years. He was the last Quebec premier to have won three or more consecutive majority governments and his era would become known as "The Great Darkness." During his tenure, he opposed military conscription and Canada's involvement in World War II, championed rural areas, provincial rights and anti-Communism, and was opposed to trade unions and Jehovah's Witnesses. While visiting the Iron Ore Company of Canada in Schefferville, Quebec, he died as a result of a stroke at the age of 69 and was succeeded by Paul Sauvé. A statue in his honor resides outside of Quebec's Parliament Building.
Bio by: William Bjornstad
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