Louis-Philippe Brodeur

The Hon.
Louis-Philippe Brodeur
P.C., Q.C.
9th Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons
In office
February 6, 1901 – January 18, 1904
Monarch Victoria
Edward VII
Governor General The Earl of Minto
Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier
Preceded by Thomas Bain
Succeeded by Napoléon Antoine Belcourt
Member of the Canadian Parliament
for Rouville
In office
March 5, 1891 – September 21, 1911
Preceded by George Auguste Gigault
Succeeded by Rodolphe Lemieux
Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada
In office
August 11, 1911 – October 10, 1923
Nominated by Sir Wilfrid Laurier
Preceded by Désiré Girouard
Succeeded by Arthur Cyrille Albert Malouin
13th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec
In office
October 31, 1923 – January 1, 1924
Monarch George V
Governor General The Viscount Byng of Vimy
Premier Louis-Alexandre Taschereau
Preceded by Charles Fitzpatrick
Succeeded by Narcisse Pérodeau
Personal details
Born (1862-08-21)August 21, 1862
Belœil, Lower Canada
Died January 1, 1924(1924-01-01) (aged 61)
Spencer Wood, Sillery, Quebec
Nationality Canadian
Political party Liberal
Spouse(s) Emma Brillon (m. 1887)
Children 5
Alma mater Université Laval
Occupation journalist, lawyer
Profession politician

Louis-Philippe Brodeur, PC QC baptised Louis-Joseph-Alexandre Brodeur (August 21, 1862 – January 1, 1924) was a Canadian journalist, lawyer, politician, federal Cabinet minister, Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons, and puisne justice of the Supreme Court of Canada.

Life and career

Born in Beloeil, Quebec, he was first elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 1891 election as Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) for Rouville, Quebec. He represented the riding continuously until his retirement prior to the 1911 election.

Brodeur was a firm supporter of Sir Wilfrid Laurier and came from a Rouges family. His father fought in the Lower Canada Rebellion of 1837, and his maternal grandfather was killed in the Rebellion's Battle of Saint-Charles.

As a young man, Brodeur studied law, graduating in 1884 with an LL.B. from the Université Laval. He worked as a young lawyer with Honoré Mercier, before establishing his own law firm of Dandurand and Brodeuer with Raoul Dandurand. He also engaged in journalism for Liberal newspapers such as la Patrie and L'Électeur before becoming editor of Le Soir. He was first elected to the Canadian House of Commons at the age of 29. After the Liberals won the 1896 election, Brodeur was appointed deputy speaker. He became Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons following the 1900 election. He was appointed as a Queen's Counsel in 1899.

Brodeur c.1923
Madame Emma Brodeur c. 1900 by William James Topley

In 1904, he was appointed to the Laurier Cabinet as Minister of Inland Revenue where he introduced anti-trust legislation to protect tobacco farmers from the monopolistic practices of the American Tobacco Company.

In 1906, he was promoted to Minister of Marine and Fisheries and reorganized the Montreal Harbours Commission and instituted reforms in the department to reduce patronage and corruption.

Brodeur was a member of the Canadian delegation to the 1907 Imperial Conference in London, and also helped negotiate a trade treaty with France.

In 1910, he became Minister of the Naval Service and was responsible for introducing legislation to create the Canadian Navy. This signified a move towards Canadian independence from Britain. It was opposed by the Conservative Party, which preferred Canada's participation in the British Navy. By the end of his term, the new Navy consisted of 233 sailors and two cruisers, one on each coast. The policy of creating a Canadian Navy was also opposed by French-Canadian nationalists such as Henri Bourassa who feared that the Canadian Navy would only be used as a device to engage Canada in British wars.

Supreme Court of Canada

Prior to the 1911 election, Brodeur retired from politics and was appointed by Laurier to a seat on the Supreme Court of Canada. He retired from the court in 1923 to accept an appointment as the 13th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec. He died on New Year's Day 1924 in Quebec City.

Family

Louis-Philippe Brodeur married Emma Brillon, daughter of J. R. Brillon, of Belœil, P.Q., in June 1887.[1] Their son, Victor, attained the rank of Rear Admiral in the Royal Canadian Navy. The École Victor-Brodeur in Esquimalut, British Columbia, is named after him. Victor's son Nigel attained the rank of Vice Admiral.

References

  1. ↑ Morgan, Henry James Types of Canadian women and of women who are or have been connected with Canada : (Toronto, 1903)
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