Sarto Fournier

Sarto Fournier (born February 15, 1908 in East Broughton , Québec , † July 23, 1980 in Ottawa , Ontario ) was a Canadian politician ( Liberal Party ). From 1935 to 1953 he was a member of the lower house , then a senator until his death . He also served as mayor of Montreal from 1957 to 1960 .

biography

Fournier studied law at McGill University and the Université de Montréal , in 1938 he was admitted to the bar. At the age of 27, he ran for the Liberal Party in the 1935 general election and won the Maisonneuve-Rosemont constituency. He was re-elected three times in a row. In the lower house he was always a backbencher . In June 1953 Prime Minister Louis Saint-Laurent appointed him to the Senate ; he was then the youngest of all senators.

In 1950 and 1954 Fournier ran unsuccessfully as mayor of Montreal. The first time he was defeated by Camillien Houde , the second time by Jean Drapeau . In response, he formed a new local party called the Ralliement du Grand Montréal to unite Drapeau's opponents. He could also count on the support of provincial prime minister Maurice Duplessis , who saw Drapeau as a potential rival. In 1957 Fournier prevailed in the mayoral election with 51% of the vote against Drapeau, but his close relationship with Duplessis resulted in his temporary exclusion from the Liberal Party in 1958.

As mayor, Fournier could only set a few accents, as Drapeau's own party, the Parti civique , continued to have a majority in the city council. During his tenure, among other things, the St. Lawrence Seaway was opened. He had success with Montreal's candidacy to host the Expo 67 world exhibition . In 1960 he did not succeed in re-election and he had to admit defeat to Drapeau (another candidacy in 1962 was also unsuccessful). He then focused on his work in the Senate, which he served for another 20 years.

literature

• Claude V. Marsolais et al .: Histoire des maires de Montréal . VLB, Montreal 1993, ISBN 2-89005-547-7 .

Web links

• Sarto Fournier - biographical information on the website of the Canadian Parliament (English)
• Biography on the website of the city administration (French)