Honoré Mercier

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Honoré Mercier

Honoré Mercier (born October 15, 1840 in Iberville , Québec , † October 30, 1894 in Montreal ) was a Canadian politician , journalist and lawyer . In 1873/74 he was a liberal member of the lower house , from 1879 he sat for the Parti libéral du Québec in the National Assembly of Québec and was party chairman from 1883 to 1892. Mercier was the ninth Prime Minister of the Province of Quebec. He ruled from January 29, 1887 to December 21, 1891, until a financial scandal in his party forced him to resign. The subsequent legal process confirmed his innocence.

biography

Professional activity and entry into politics

Father Jean-Baptiste was a liberal farmer who had been imprisoned during the 1837 rebellions for helping two insurgents flee to the United States . Mercier graduated from Jesuit -run Collège Sainte-Marie in Montreal and received 1865 admission as a lawyer . During his studies he was editor of the newspaper Le Courrier de Saint-Hyacinthe from 1862 to 1864 . In his newspaper articles, he spoke out against plans to create a Canadian state, fearing that it would worsen the situation for French Canadians .

Mercier settled in the city of Saint-Hyacinthe . He ran a law firm there and was considered one of the best criminal lawyers. Over time, his rejection of the Confederation gave way to a neutral assessment. In 1867 he married Léopoldine Boivin, who died two years later; the second marriage to Virginie Saint-Denis was concluded in 1871. A year later he ran for the Liberal Party in the general election in 1872 and won the constituency of Rouville. Since he often did not stick to the party line in parliamentary debates, he lost the support of his own party and two years later did not stand for the early election . In 1878 he tried again, but was narrowly defeated by the conservative opponent.

Political rise

Henri-Gustave Joly de Lotbinière , the Prime Minister of Québec, appointed Mercier as Deputy Minister of Justice (solicitor general) on May 1, 1879. A month later, he was elected Saint-Hyacinthe MP to the Québec National Assembly. But on October 31, 1879, the liberal provincial government collapsed. In the following years Mercier gained more and more influence within his party and replaced Joly as chairman in January 1883. In the same year he founded the newspaper Le Temps .

The execution of the Métis rebel leader Louis Riel on November 16, 1885 sparked outrage in large parts of the Québec population. Mercier sparked French-Canadian nationalism and renamed the party the Parti national the following day. He wanted to strengthen his liberal base with disappointed conservative dissidents. The Parti national, which was not officially affiliated with the Liberal Party at the federal level, was supposed to defend Québec's autonomy against the centralization efforts of the federal government, but also to defend French and Catholic identity.

The October 1886 election ended in a narrow victory for Mercier. The Conservative government of Louis-Olivier Taillon stayed in power for a few weeks, but finally Mercier took over the office of Prime Minister on January 29, 1887. Fewer conservatives had joined than hoped, which is why his party soon resumed its ancestral name.

Climax and decline

As Prime Minister, Mercier first held joint conferences of the Canadian provincial governments in 1887. Together with Oliver Mowat from Ontario was one of the first premiers to defend the principle of provincial autonomy within the Canadian Confederation and to work to abolish the right of veto claimed by the federal government in provincial legislation. He tried to promote the economic development of the French Canadians and to stop emigration through increased inland colonization, the construction of new railway lines and the expansion of the education system.

Statue in honor of Mercier in front of the Parliament building in Quebec City

The Liberals triumphed again in the provincial elections in June 1890 and were able to increase their majority significantly. In the summer of 1891, Mercier traveled to various European countries to negotiate in order to negotiate credits for the economic development of Québec. Upon his return in September 1891, he was embroiled in the Chaleur Bay scandal . Ernest Pacaud, his party's treasurer, had put subsidies into the party's coffers for the accelerated completion of a railway project. Despite his assertion that he had no knowledge of the transaction, Mercier was dismissed on December 16, 1891 by Lieutenant Governor Auguste-Réal Angers . Five days later, Charles-Eugène Boucher de Boucherville succeeded him.

In March 1892 the Liberals lost the early election and the party chairmanship passed to Félix-Gabriel Marchand . Although an investigative report concluded that Mercier was not at fault, he was charged with fraud. The subsequent legal process, which was accompanied by incessant political attacks by his opponents, ended on November 4, 1892 with his acquittal. Mercier enjoyed the sympathy of the population again, but was suffering from diabetes and financially ruined. He finally died on October 30, 1894 at the age of 54. A crowd of over 70,000 accompanied his funeral procession to the Notre-Dame-des-Neiges cemetery .

Mercier's daughter Élisa (from his first marriage) married Lomer Gouin in 1888 , who ruled Québec as Prime Minister from 1905 to 1920.

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personal data
SURNAME Mercier, Honoré
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Canadian politician
DATE OF BIRTH October 15, 1840
PLACE OF BIRTH Iberville (Quebec)
DATE OF DEATH October 30, 1894
Place of death Montreal