Hector-Louis Langevin

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Hector-Louis Langevin (1873)

Sir Hector-Louis Langevin , KCMG , PC , QC , CB (born August 26, 1826 in Québec , Lower Canada , † June 11, 1906 ibid) was a Canadian lawyer and politician of the Conservative Party . As one of the fathers of the Confederation , he was one of the pioneers of the Canadian state founded in 1867. From 1867 to 1874 and from 1877 to 1896 he was a member of the Canadian lower house . For nearly a quarter of a century he held various ministerial posts in the cabinets of Prime Ministers John Macdonald and John Abbott .

biography

Langevin had seven siblings. His eldest brother, Jean Langevin, was Bishop of Rimouski from 1867 to 1891 . After attending school, Langevin studied law . While still a student, he was editor-in-chief of the weekly Mélanges religieux , the official organ of the diocese of Montreal, from 1847 to 1849 . In 1850 he was admitted as a lawyer . In addition to this full-time activity, he continued to devote himself to journalism . In 1849 he was editor-in-chief of the Journal d'agriculture and in 1857 of the Courrier du Canada . From 1872 to 1875 he wrote for Le Canadien , from 1889 for Le Drapeau .

Langevin's political career began in 1856 when he was elected to the Québec City Council . From 1856 to 1861 he was mayor of his hometown. In addition, he ran for election to the Lower House of the Province of Canada in 1858 and prevailed in the Dorchester constituency. In 1861 and 1863 he was re-elected. Between 1864 and 1867 he was a member of the Government of the Province of Canada, as Minister of Justice (Solicitor General) and Minister of Post. Langevin played a key role in the deliberations on the creation of a federal state. He took part in the Charlottetown Conference and the Québec Conference in 1864, and two years later at the London Conference .

Prime Minister John Macdonald appointed Langevin to Canada's first cabinet after the Canadian Constitution came into force on July 1, 1867 . In the first Canadian general election three months later, he won a seat for the Conservative Party in the Dorchester constituency. He was also a member of the National Assembly of Québec until double mandates at the federal and provincial levels were finally no longer allowed in 1874. In the cabinet for Langevin until December 1869 State Secretary for Canada and as such primarily responsible for relations with the United Kingdom . After that he was Minister for State Building Projects until November 1873, an influential task in view of the numerous infrastructure projects. In addition, he also held the offices of general superintendent for Indian affairs (May 1868 to December 1869) and defense minister (May / June 1873) for a short period of time .

Because of the Pacific scandal , the conservative federal government had to resign in November 1873. Since Langevin was also suspected of having been involved in the scandal, he could not find an electoral district in which he would have had a realistic chance in the general election in 1874 , which is why he decided not to run. In January 1876 he ran for a by-election in the Charlevoix constituency. Due to an election complaint about unauthorized interference by the Catholic Church, which was confirmed by the Supreme Court in February 1877 , Langevin was unable to take up his mandate. In the re-election in March 1877, he won, only to lose his parliamentary mandate a year and a half later in the general election in 1878 . In November 1878, he finally won a by-election in the constituency of Trois-Rivières.

A month earlier, Macdonald Langevin had appointed him to Canada's third cabinet , initially as Minister of Post. After a cabinet reshuffle in May 1879, he again took over the Ministry of State Construction. Due to the past scandals and electoral defeats, he lost influence, as a staunch federalist he increasingly came into conflict with the nationalists in the province of Québec. In 1885, his influence was insufficient to prevent the execution of the Métis rebel leader Louis Riel . As one of the few Quebec Conservatives, he was able to defend his mandate in 1887. In August 1891, the new prime minister dismissed John Abbott Langevin as minister after allegations of corruption against him in connection with contract awards to the companies McGreevy & Bros. and Larkin, Connolly and Co. had been raised. In the general election in 1891 , he appeared in both Trois-Rivières and Richelieu and won both times. In Richelieu he had prevailed against the later Prime Minister of Québec Lomer Gouin . Eventually he decided to continue to represent Trois-Rivières. In 1896 Langevin waived re-election and withdrew from the public.

The Langevin Block on Parliament Hill in Ottawa is named after Langevin , the place of work for the Canadian Prime Minister. The Langevin Bridge in Calgary also bears his name .

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personal data
SURNAME Langevin, Hector-Louis
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Canadian lawyer, publisher and politician
DATE OF BIRTH August 26, 1826
PLACE OF BIRTH Quebec , Lower Canada
DATE OF DEATH June 11, 1906
Place of death Quebec