Albert Sévigny, (December 31, 1881 – May 14, 1961) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

politician.

Life and career

Sévigny was born in Tingwick, Quebec. He opened a law practice in

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...

in 1905. Two years later, he was a candidate for the Quebec Conservative Party in a provincial

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

, but was defeated. He was elected to the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Common ...

in the 1911 federal election. His election was facilitated by an informal alliance between the

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

and the Nationalists led by

Henri Bourassa Joseph-Napoléon-Henri Bourassa (; September 1, 1868 – August 31, 1952) was a French Canadian political leader and publisher. In 1899, Bourassa was outspoken against the British government's request for Canada to send a militia to fight fo ...

because of Sevigny's sympathy with Bourassa's views. In Parliament, Sevigny became a supporter of Canadian participation in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

despite the strong opposition of most Quebecers, and became a staunch Conservative. He was appointed Deputy Speaker in 1915, and in 1916, he became

Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada The speaker of the House of Commons (french: président de la Chambre des communes) is the presiding officer of the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. A member of Parliament (MP), they are elected at the beginning of each new parliament b ...

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Robert Borden Sir Robert Laird Borden (June 26, 1854 – June 10, 1937) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the eighth prime minister of Canada from 1911 to 1920. He is best known for his leadership of Canada during World War I. Borde ...

was facing an increasing divisive crisis over conscription with the country divided between English Canadians who supported the measure and

French-Canadians French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco-Canadiens), refers to either an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to Fren ...

who fervently opposed it. In early 1917, Borden asked Sevigny to leave the Speaker's chair and join the

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

to help the government persuade Quebecers of the government's case. Sévigny was appointed

Minister of Inland Revenue The Minister of Inland Revenue is the political office of Minister for the department of Inland Revenue which is responsible for the collection of taxes. "Minister of Inland Revenue" is a title held by politicians in different countries. the offi ...

, and was required by the laws of the time to resign his

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and run in a

. He was re-elected by a margin of only 257 votes. In June, Borden introduced

conscription Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...

and, of the French Canadian

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, only three voted for the conscription bill, including Sévigny. Borden formed a

Union government The Government of India ( ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

with dissident Liberals and called a general election in 1917 on the conscription issue. The country divided largely along linguistic lines: the Conservative candidates were wiped out in Quebec in a rout that cost Sévigny his seat. Borden's coalition dominated the election in English Canada, however, and he was returned with a strong majority. In 1921, the Conservative government appointed Sévigny to the

Quebec Superior Court The Superior Court of Quebec (french: Cour supérieure du Québec) is a superior trial court in the Province of Quebec, in Canada. It consists of 157 judges who are appointed by the federal government. Appeals from this court are taken to the Qu ...

on which he served for 39 years, becoming Associate Chief Justice in 1933 and Chief Justice in 1942. In 1950, Sévigny presided over the murder trial of Albert Guay, who was responsible for the bombing of

Canadian Pacific Air Lines Flight 108 Canadian Pacific Air Lines Flight 108, known as the Sault-au-Cochon Tragedy was a Douglas DC-3 operated by Canadian Pacific Air Lines (registry CF-CUA S/N: 4518), that was blown up by a dynamite time bomb on 9 September 1949. The plane was fl ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sevigny, Albert 1881 births 1961 deaths Lawyers in Quebec Judges in Quebec Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) MPs Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Speakers of the House of Commons of Canada