Pierre-Joseph-Olivier Chauveau

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Pierre-Joseph-Olivier Chauveau

Pierre-Joseph-Olivier Chauveau , QC (born May 30, 1820 in Charlesbourg (now part of the city of Québec ), † April 4, 1890 in Québec) was a Canadian politician , legal scholar and writer . From July 15, 1867 to February 25, 1873 he ruled the province of Québec as Prime Minister and was during this time chairman of the Parti conservateur du Québec . At the same time he was from 1867 to 1873 Conservative MP in the Canadian House of Commons . He then belonged to the Senate until 1874 .

biography

Chauveau came from a wealthy family. His father, a trader, died when he was four years old. His maternal grandfather took care of him and his mother. Chauveau attended the Jesuit- run Séminaire de Québec . He then faced the decision to study theology or law and chose the latter. His classmates included Elzéar-Alexandre Taschereau and Luc Letellier de Saint-Just . Seized by the rebellions of 1837/38 in Lower Canada , Chauveau wrote patriotic poems and sent them to the Le Canadien newspaper , where they were published. In 1841 he was finally admitted to the bar .

In 1840 Chauveau married Marie-Louise-Flore Masse, with whom he later had seven children. He accepted his uncle's offer to join his law firm as a new partner. Although actually opposed to the formation of a Canadian union, he nonetheless supported other nationalists who, under certain conditions, viewed such a union as serving Québec's interests. In the years 1842/43 he was a co-founder of various societies in which he gave speeches. In addition, he wrote letters to the editor in newspapers in which he criticized colonialism in a moderate tone.

His Charles Guérin , published as a feature novel from 1846–1847 : roman de mœurs canadiennes , came out in 1853 as a book. The novel is considered an important representative of the roman du terroir .

In 1844 the decision was made to devote himself entirely to politics. In the same year he succeeded in moving into the lower house of the still young province of Canada , which was created in 1841 through the merger of Upper and Lower Canada. He campaigned for the right to use French (the only official language was English ) in Parliament. He was particularly concerned about the emigration of French Canadians to the USA . In the reformist government of Francis Hincks and Augustin-Norbert Morin , Chauveau was Deputy Minister of Justice (solicitor general) for Lower Canada between November 1851 and August 1853, then Provincial Secretary until January 1855.

Chauveau gave up his parliamentary seat in July 1855 because he had been passed over in a cabinet reorganization. He moved to Montreal and took on a new role as Superintendent of the Québec Province Schools Board. In the following years he was mainly occupied with expanding the education system. From October 1866 to June 1867 he was on a government assignment in Europe to collect suggestions for improving the state school system. Upon his return, Chauveau considered selling his home in Quebec City to pay off his debts and start a newspaper. A surprising turn in the political scene preceded his plans. Since the original candidate for the office of first Prime Minister of Québec, Joseph-Édouard Cauchon (Mayor of Québec), appeared to be unenforceable, Vice-Governor Narcisse-Fortunat preferred Belleau Chauveau as a compromise solution.

Chauveau responded, took office on July 15, 1867 as the first Prime Minister of Québec and took over the chairmanship of the Parti conservateur du Québec . He was also elected to the National Assembly of Québec and entered the general election in 1867 with success . At the provincial level he was also Minister of Education from February 1868. In the years that followed, Chauveau was confronted with the complexities of administrative structures and conflicting interests. The problem of mass emigration to the US persisted, and improvements in the country's infrastructure were difficult to address due to a lack of economic powers (these were mostly at the federal level). The Protestants wanted to see their minority rights with regard to the maintenance of their own schools protected and were finally able to implement a dual education system that lasted until 1998.

Over time, Chauveau began to show signs of wear and tear. Financial and personal burdens (two of his daughters died during his tenure) made it easier for him in February 1873 to accept the proposal to give up his offices at the provincial level and his lower house mandate. Instead, Canadian Prime Minister John Macdonald named him Speaker of the Senate . Gédéon Ouimet took over as Prime Minister of Québec . The rise of the Liberal Party at the federal level also put an end to this in January 1874. Chauveau went to the general election in 1874 , but was defeated this time.

Chauveau was now up in the air professionally and had to cope with the death of another daughter. At least he now had time again for studies and hired himself as an article writer for some time. So he wrote u. a. At the end of 1874 an article about the Canadian education system, which appeared in German in the Encyclopedia of the Entire Education and Teaching System at the beginning of 1876 . However, his financial situation remained precarious. For example, he was forced to sell part of his private library to McGill University . In 1877 he took on a managerial administrative function in Montreal and finally moved in 1878 to the new Montreal campus of the Université Laval (now Université de Montréal ), where he taught Roman law . From 1884 to 1890, Chauveau was also Dean of the Law Faculty. In the last year of his life, he retired on his estate in Quebec City, where he died on April 4, 1890.

Works (selection)

  • 1853 Charles Guérin: roman de mœurs canadiennes
  • 1854 La Pléiade rouge: biographies humoristiques
  • 1876 ​​L'Instruction publique au Canada: précis historique et statistique
  • 1877 souvenirs et legends
  • 1883 François-Xavier Garneau: sa vie et ses œuvres

Web links

Commons : Pierre-Joseph-Olivier Chauveau  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Jean Hamelin and Pierre Poulin, Chauveau, Pierre-Joseph-Olivier at: biographi.ca , accessed on September 15, 2015 (French, English ).
  2. ↑ Pierre-Joseph-Olivier Chauveau ( English, French ) In: The Canadian Encyclopedia .
  3. ↑ Jean-Louis Lessard, La littérature du terroir au Québec at: laurentiana.blogspot.ca , accessed on September 15, 2015 (French).
personal data
SURNAME Chauveau, Pierre-Joseph-Olivier
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Canadian politician, lawyer, and writer
DATE OF BIRTH May 30, 1820
PLACE OF BIRTH Charlesbourg
DATE OF DEATH April 4, 1890
Place of death Quebec