Jacques Grenier

Jacques Grenier

Jacques Grenier (born January 20, 1823 in Berthierville , Lower Canada , † March 5, 1909 in Montreal ) was a Canadian politician and businessman . From 1889 to 1891 he was mayor of Montreal.

biography

The son of a seaman moved to Sorel at the age of 16 to work for a trader. From 1844 he worked in Montreal as a commercial clerk. A few years later Grenier went into business for himself and founded a wholesale company for textile goods. It expanded rapidly and entered into a partnership with Pierre-Paul Martin in 1858, after which the company was renamed Grenier & Martin . With his nephew Jacques-Hercule Giroux he entered into a new partnership in 1865, from which Jacques Grenier & Co. emerged. Grenier was a major influence in the Anglophone-dominated Montreal business world. He was financially involved not only in several textile companies, but also in a telephone and a railway company.

Grenier was a member of the Montreal City Council from 1857 to 1866 and from 1872 to 1889 and chaired several commissions (police, waterworks, finances). In 1878 he ran for a seat in the Legislative Assembly of Québec . Despite the support of prominent liberal politicians such as Honoré Mercier or Louis-Amable Jetté, he was narrowly defeated by the conservative incumbent Louis-Olivier Taillon . In 1889 Grenier was elected mayor of Montreal and held that office for two years until he was defeated by James McShane in 1891 . He had been president of the Banque du Peuple since 1885 . However, ten years later, this financial institution had to be liquidated due to failed risky deals. The commission of inquiry that was then appointed came to the conclusion that Grenier and the other members of the board of directors had insufficiently supervised the management.

Web links

• Jacques Grenier . In: Dictionary of Canadian Biography . 24 volumes, 1966–2018. University of Toronto Press, Toronto ( English , French ).
• Biography on the website of the city administration (French)