Lomer Gouin

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Lomer Gouin (1910)

Sir Jean Lomer Gouin , PC , KCMG (born March 19, 1861 in Grondines , Province of Québec , † March 28, 1929 in Québec ) was a Canadian politician . From 1897 he was a member of the National Assembly of Québec . In 1905 he took over the chairmanship of the Parti libéral du Québec , led it to an election victory and was Prime Minister of the Province of Québec until 1920. In 1921 he was appointed minister of justice in the liberal federal cabinet and was a member of the lower house until 1925 . He served as lieutenant governor of Québec for the last three months of his life .

biography

Gouin, the son of a doctor, studied law at the Université de Laval in Montreal . He did his internship with John Abbott , who later became Prime Minister of Canada, and with former Justice Minister Rodolphe Laflamme . In 1884 he was admitted as a lawyer . His law firm partners included Louis-Olivier Taillon , who later became Prime Minister of Québec twice. In 1888 he married Élisa Mercier, the daughter of the incumbent Quebec Prime Minister Honoré Mercier .

Gouin gained his first political experience as a liberal candidate in the general election in 1891 , where he was defeated in the Richelieu constituency by the long-time minister Hector-Louis Langevin . For the Parti libéral du Québec , however, he was successful in the election to the National Assembly of Québec in 1897 . Simon-Napoléon Parent appointed Gouin to the provincial government in October 1900 as Minister for Colonization and State Building Projects. Parent came under massive pressure within the party due to corruption allegations. Together with two other ministers, Gouin resigned in February 1905, bringing down Parent a month later.

Lieutenant Governor Louis-Amable Jetté instructed Gouin to form a new government. He took over the chairmanship of the party and took up the post of Prime Minister on March 23, 1905. In the course of his fifteen-year tenure, Gouin managed to increase the province's income nearly four times - through federal subsidies, higher clearing fees and the sale of water usage rights to electricity companies. While spending increased at a similar rate, the government managed to generate a surplus each year and reduce debt. Québec was able to take over large parts of the Northwest Territories twice : on June 13, 1898, the area as far as the coast of James Bay of the province was struck, and on May 15, 1912, the Ungava district in northern Labrador .

Gouin's government was very interested in developing the education system. In addition to the establishment of numerous normal schools for girls, the main focus was on expanding technical and scientific education. Polytechnic schools emerged in the cities of Montreal and Québec, and in 1910 the École des hautes études commerciales in Montreal began operations. Although Gouin restricted the sale of alcohol, he rejected a comprehensive prohibition . However, under pressure from church circles, the government had to enact a strict prohibition law in 1919. However, this then proved to be unenforceable, which is why less drastic regulations came into force after a short time. He firmly rejected the introduction of women's suffrage , as did the introduction of compulsory military service during the First World War .

After Gouin had celebrated an overwhelming election victory for the fifth time in a row in 1919, he appointed Louis-Alexandre Taschereau as his successor and resigned on July 8, 1920. Taschereau reciprocated by making him a member of the Legislative Council in 1921 . He only held this office for a few months. He stood as a candidate for the Liberal Party of Canada for the general election in 1921 and won the constituency of Laurier-Outremont, due to a lack of opposing candidates by acclamation . Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King took him on as Minister of Justice in the federal cabinet in December 1921.

In the cabinet, Gouin was increasingly isolated as he opposed the tariff cuts that farmers in western Canada were demanding. Finally, at the beginning of 1924, he announced his resignation as minister. In 1925 he decided not to be re-elected as a member of the House of Commons and then devoted himself to entrepreneurial activities. Mackenzie King refused to appoint Gouin a senator several times . After four years, however, he agreed to make him lieutenant governor of Québec instead. On January 10, 1929, Gouin was sworn in by Governor General Lord Willingdon . Less than three months later he died of a severe attack of angina and was buried in the Notre-Dame-des-Neiges cemetery in Montreal.

Named after Lomer Gouin are the Gouin reservoir and the Boulevard Gouin , the longest street on the Île de Montréal . His sons Léon Mercier Gouin and Paul Gouin and his nephew Gaspard Fauteux were also well-known politicians.

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personal data
SURNAME Gouin, Lomer
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Gouin, Jean Lomer (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Canadian politician, Prime Minister and Lieutenant Governor of Québec
DATE OF BIRTH March 19, 1861
PLACE OF BIRTH Grondines
DATE OF DEATH March 28, 1929
Place of death Quebec