Alexandre-Maurice Delisle (April 20, 1810 – February 13, 1880) was a

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

businessman and political figure. Trained as a lawyer, he held several public service positions in the governments of

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada (french: province du Bas-Canada) was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence (1791–1841). It covered the southern portion of the current Province of Quebec an ...

and the

Province of Canada The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British North America, British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham ...

. In 1841, he was elected to the first Parliament of the

, and was one of only two French-Canadian members of the Assembly to vote in favour of the union of

and

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada (french: link=no, province du Haut-Canada) was a part of British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the ...

. He resigned his seat in 1843 to return to provincial service, as clerk of the Crown. Although he left electoral politics, he was a strong supporter of the

Parti Bleu The Blue Party (french: Parti bleu) was a political group that contested elections in the Eastern section of the Province of Canada. The Blue Party was ideologically located on the political right, and was defined by its support for the Catholi ...

. In addition to his provincial offices, he was involved in various business activities. Delisle's career took a major setback when he was accused by his own brother of having committed frauds when serving as a clerk of the Crown. The provincial government held a public inquiry into the allegations, but the issue became a partisan dispute. The government was Liberal, Delisle was Bleu, and he lost his provincial positions in 1863. When the Conservative-Bleu alliance returned to power in 1866, they reinstated him, but the Liberal government of Alexander Mackenzie again dismissed him in 1874. At the time of his death in 1880, Delisle was rumoured to be in line for an appointment to the

Senate of Canada The Senate of Canada (french: region=CA, Sénat du Canada) is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the House of Commons, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The Senate is modelled after the B ...

by the Conservative government of Sir

John A. Macdonald Sir John Alexander Macdonald (January 10 or 11, 1815 – June 6, 1891) was the first prime minister of Canada, serving from 1867 to 1873 and from 1878 to 1891. The dominant figure of Canadian Confederation, he had a political career that sp ...

, who was returned to office in 1878.

Early life

Delisle was born in

(now

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

) on April 20, 1810, son of Jean Delisle and Mary Robinson. His father was a clerk with Trinity House in Montreal, which regulated shipping on the St. Lawrence River. He studied at the

Petit Séminaire de Montréal Petite or petite may refer to: *Petit (crater), a small, bowl-shaped lunar crater on Mare Spumans *Petit (EP), ''Petit'' (EP), a 1995 EP by Japanese singer-songwriter Ua *Petit (typography), another name for brevier-size type *Petit four *Petit G ...

from 1817 to 1822, then articled in law. He was admitted to the bar in 1832. In 1833, he married Marie-Angélique, daughter of

Austin Cuvillier Austin Cuvillier (August 20, 1779 – July 11, 1849) was a businessman and political figure in Lower Canada and Canada East. He was a successful ''Canadien'' businessmen, unusual when most businessmen in Lower Canada were British. He also w ...

, a well-established Montreal merchant and member of the

Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada The Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada was the lower house of the bicameral structure of provincial government in Lower Canada until 1838. The legislative assembly was created by the Constitutional Act of 1791. The lower house consisted of ele ...

.Jacques Monet
"Delisle, Alexandre-Maurice"
''Dictionary of Canadian Biography'', vol. X (1871–1880), University of Toronto / Université Laval.

Early career

Delisle began to work in the provincial public service in Montreal. He was appointed

clerk of the peace A clerk of the peace held an office in England and Wales whose responsibility was the records of the quarter sessions and the framing of presentments and indictments. They had legal training, so that they could advise justices of the peace. Histo ...

and clerk of the Crown in 1833. In 1838 he was appointed the commissioner to receive the oaths of the members of the

Special Council of Lower Canada The Special Council of Lower Canada was an appointed body which administered Lower Canada until the Union Act of 1840 created the Province of Canada. Following the Lower Canada Rebellion, on March 27, 1838, the Constitutional Act of 1791 was susp ...

, which governed the province following the

Lower Canada Rebellion The Lower Canada Rebellion (french: rébellion du Bas-Canada), commonly referred to as the Patriots' War () in French, is the name given to the armed conflict in 1837–38 between rebels and the colonial government of Lower Canada (now southe ...

. That year he was again appointed clerk of the peace.

Legislative Assembly

Following the rebellion in Lower Canada, and the similar rebellion in 1837 in

(now

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

), the British government decided to merge the two provinces into a single province, as recommended by

Lord Durham Earl of Durham is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1833 for the Whig politician and colonial official John Lambton, 1st Baron Durham. Known as "Radical Jack", he played a leading role in the passing of the Gre ...

in the

Durham Report The ''Report on the Affairs of British North America'', (1839) commonly known as the ''Durham Report'' or ''Lord Durham's Report'', is an important document in the history of Quebec, Ontario, Canada and the British Empire. The notable British ...

. The ''Union Act, 1840'', passed by the

British Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative supremacy ...

, abolished the two provinces and their separate parliaments, and created the

, with a single Parliament for the entire province, composed of an elected Legislative Assembly and an appointed Legislative Council. The

Governor General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

retained a strong position in the government. At the request of the Governor General, Lord Sydenham, in 1841 Delisle stood as a candidate in the first general elections to the

Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada The Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada was the lower house of the legislature for the Province of Canada, which consisted of the former provinces of Lower Canada, then known as Canada East and later the province of Quebec, and Upper C ...

. His opponent in Montreal County was James Leslie, who had extensive political experience from his time in the

. Although Leslie had supported the union in principle, he disagreed with the terms, particularly the equal representation of the two Canadas in the new Parliament. Delisle campaigned in favour of the union of the Canadas. The election turned violent and two of Delisle's supporters were killed, but he was declared elected. In the first session, one of the major issues was a motion concerning the recent union of the Canadas, which had been strongly opposed in Lower Canada. Delisle was one of two French-Canadian members of the Assembly who voted in favour of the union, the other being

Melchior-Alphonse de Salaberry Melchior-Alphonse de Salaberry (or Melchior-Alphonse d'Irumberry de Salaberry; May 19, 1813 – March 27, 1867) was a Canadien lawyer and political figure. He was born in Saint-Philippe-de-Laprairie, Lower Canada in 1813, the son of Charles-M ...

. During his time in the Assembly, Delisle was a consistent supporter of the Governor, and a member of the informal "

British Tory The Tories were a loosely organised political faction and later a political party, in the Parliaments of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom. They first emerged during the 1679 Exclusion Crisis, when they opposed ...

" group from Canada East. Delisle resigned his seat in 1843 to return to the post of clerk of the Crown in Montreal.

Later career

Although Delisle had left the Assembly, he had not stopped his involvement in politics. As clerk of the Crown in Montreal, he was returning officer for a Montreal by-election in 1844, which also turned violent. Delisle was a strong supporter of the candidate of Governor General Metcalfe, who was defeated. Delisle was an early and strong supporter of the

Parti bleu The Blue Party (french: Parti bleu) was a political group that contested elections in the Eastern section of the Province of Canada. The Blue Party was ideologically located on the political right, and was defined by its support for the Catholi ...

, the conservative party which gradually emerged in Canada East. He gave large sums to election campaigns, and was a close friend and respected advisor of

George-Étienne Cartier Sir George-Étienne Cartier, 1st Baronet, (pronounced ; September 6, 1814May 20, 1873) was a Canadian statesman and Father of Confederation. The English spelling of the name—George, instead of Georges, the usual French spelling—is explained ...

, who became the leader of the Bleus and a

Father of Confederation The Fathers of Confederation are the 36 people who attended at least one of the Charlottetown Conference of 1864 (23 attendees), the Quebec Conference of 1864 (33 attendees), and the London Conference of 1866 (16 attendees), preceding Canadian ...

. Delisle was a successful land speculator, particularly in the

Rimouski Rimouski ( ) is a city in Quebec, Canada. Rimouski is located in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region, at the mouth of the Rimouski River. It has a population of 48,935 (as of 2021). Rimouski is the site of Université du Québec à Rimouski (UQAR), the C ...

and Pointe-au-Père areas. He was involved in banking, serving as a director and later the president for the Montreal City and District Savings Bank, and also a director of the

City Bank of Montreal The City Bank of Montreal (known in French as "La Banque de la Cité") was an early bank founded in Montreal in 1833, when it was part of Lower Canada. It was founded as a counterpart to the Bank of Montreal, whose politically conservative direc ...

. He helped promote the

Montreal and Bytown Railway The Montreal and Bytown Railway Company was a Canadian railway company. Chartered in August 1853, the company built a line between Montreal and Bytown, which is now known as Ottawa. It was declared insolvent in 1858 and was acquired by the Carillo ...

, personally investing £1000, and also served as its president. Delisle also served as director and later president for the

Champlain and St. Lawrence Railroad The Champlain and St. Lawrence Railroad (C&SL) was a historic railway in Lower Canada, the first Canadian public railway and one of the first railways built in British North America. Origin The C&SL was financed by Montreal entrepreneur and br ...

, until it combined with the

Grand Trunk Railway The Grand Trunk Railway (; french: Grand Tronc) was a railway system that operated in the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario and in the American states of Connecticut, Maine, Michigan, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. The rai ...

. He was also a director of the Gulf of St. Lawrence Steamship Company, which involved business travel to the West Indies and South America. In 1859, he was named to the Montreal Harbour Commission, and in 1862 he was appointed sheriff of Montreal. In 1864, he bought a large tract of land which became the town of Sainte-Cunégonde, later incorporated into the city of Montreal and known as

Little Burgundy Little Burgundy (french: La Petite-Bourgogne) is a neighbourhood in the South West borough of the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Geography Its approximate boundaries are Atwater Avenue to the west, Saint-Antoine to the north, Guy Street ...

Fraud charges

In 1863, Delisle was accused of fraud by his own brother, Michel-Charles, relating to his term as clerk of the Crown. Delisle and two others in the office were alleged to have over-charged for the issuing of subpoenas from the office, and used the difference to fund their own speculative ventures. The provincial government of the day, the Sandfield Macdonald- Sicotte ministry, appointed a commission of inquiry, which turned into a heavily partisan matter. The government was Liberal-Rouge and Delisle was Bleu. He called a large number of witnesses in his behalf, most of whom were high-ranking Bleus. Delisle maintained that the whole thing was the result of the machinations of

Joseph Doutre Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

, a Montreal lawyer who was a strong supporter of the

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

s and

Parti rouge The Red Party (french: Parti rouge, or french: Parti démocratique) was a political group that contested elections in the Eastern section of the Province of Canada. It was formed around 1847 by radical French-Canadians inspired by the ideas of L ...

."Correspondence, documents, evidence and proceedings in the enquiry of Messrs. LeFrenaye & Doherty, commissioners, into the office of the Clerk of the Crown and Clerk of the Peace, Montreal" (Montreal: Montreal Gazette, 1864).
/ref> The commissioners concluded that the allegations were upheld. The government relieved of Delisle of his posts as harbour commissioner and sheriff. When the

Conservative 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 i ...

/Bleu parties regained power in 1866, he was reinstated to the harbour commission and also given the post of customs collector at Montreal. He held those offices until the Liberals returned to power in 1874, when he was again dismissed.

Last years

Delisle died at Montreal in 1880. It was rumoured that he was in line for appointment to the

by the Conservative government of Sir

, who had been returned to power in the 1878 election. Delisle died a wealthy man, having profited greatly from his various business and entrepreneurial activities. He was buried in the

Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery (french: Cimetière Notre-Dame-des-Neiges) is a rural cemetery located in the borough of Côte-des-Neiges-Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, Montreal, Quebec, Canada which was founded in 1854. The entrance and the grounds run a ...

, close to the gravesite of his political ally, Cartier.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Delisle, Alexandre-Maurice 1810 births 1880 deaths Bank of Montreal people Burials at Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery Businesspeople from Montreal Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from Canada East Montreal City and District Savings Bank directors Parti bleu MLAs in the Province of Canada Petit Séminaire de Montréal alumni Politicians from Montreal Pre-Confederation Canadian businesspeople