J. Armand Foucher (1898–1976) was a businessman and local politician in

Shawinigan Shawinigan () is a city located on the Saint-Maurice River in the Mauricie area in Quebec, Canada. It had a population of 49,349 as of the 2016 Canadian census. Shawinigan is also a territory equivalent to a regional county municipality (TE) an ...

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 ...

. He was the 14th Mayor of Shawinigan from 1957 to 1963.Fabien LaRochelle, ''Shawinigan depuis 75 ans'', 1976

Biography

Joseph Armand Foucher was born November 20, 1898, in Saint-Paulin,

Mauricie Mauricie () is a traditional and current administrative region of Quebec. La Mauricie National Park is contained within the region, making it a prime tourist location. The region has a land area of 35,860.05 km² (13,845.64 sq mi) and a popu ...

. He was the youngest son of Joseph Foucher and Herménégilde Leblanc. In 1921, he married Estelle Frigon (daughter of Joseph-Auguste Frigon). The family lived in the village of Sainte-Flore, then moved in 1929 to the neighboring city of Shawinigan Falls.J. Armand Foucher (1898-1976)
Société d'histoire et de généalogie de Shawinigan (accessed 18 October 2016) In 1938, he began the publication of the small weekly newspaper ''Les Chutes'' in Shawinigan, which he published for 30 years, until 1968. He also published six other weekly newspapers in as many cities, including ''Le Laurentien'' in Grand-Mère, ''Le Réveil'' in

Louiseville Louiseville is a town in the Mauricie region of the province of Quebec in Canada. It is located near the mouth of the 'Rivière-du-Loup', on the north shore of Lac Saint-Pierre. Louiseville is twinned with Soissons in France and Cerfontaine in ...

, ''La Sentinelle'' in

La Tuque La Tuque (; ) is a city located in north-central Quebec, Canada, on the Saint-Maurice River, between Trois-Rivières and Chambord. The population was 11,227 at the Canada 2011 Census, most of which live within the urban area. At over 28,000 sq ...

, ''Les Cheneaux'' in

Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières (, – 'Three Rivers') is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada, at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice River, Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence River, Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Sain ...

, ''Le Drapeau'' in Berthierville and ''L'Industrie'' in Arvida, Jonquière, Kénogami. In 1949, he started his own printing business. He independently owned a service station in the Christ-Roi neighborhood in Shawinigan, at the corner of boulevard Saint-Sacrement and avenue St-Prosper (across from Alcan's aluminum plant #2), and was an advocate of buying locally. Foucher would use his newspaper to advertise lower prices on gas. He ran for

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

in the special election that was held in February, 1957 to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of mayor

Gaston Hardy Gaston Hardy (April 22, 1917 – July 15, 1977) was a municipal and provincial politician in Shawinigan Falls, Quebec. He was the 13th Mayor of the City of Shawinigan Falls, from 1954 to 1957. Biography Gaston Hardy was born in 1917 in Portne ...

and won. He was re-elected, unopposed, in the regular election of November, 1957. He was re-elected in the election of November, 1960. He resigned in August, 1963 before the end of his second term. The city council appointed Henri Désaulniers to succeed him. Under his administration, the annexation of Shawinigan-Est was completed and the following facilities were established: * The federal Post Office (395, avenue de la Station); * The Shawinigan Bridge, dedicated on Sunday, September 2, 1962, in the presence of Premier

Jean Lesage Jean Lesage (; 10 June 1912 – 12 December 1980) was a Canadian lawyer and politician from Quebec. He served as the 19th premier of Quebec from 22 June 1960 to 16 June 1966. Alongside Georges-Émile Lapalme, René Lévesque and others, he is o ...

and Roman Catholic Bishop Georges-Léon Pelletier; * The Marc-Trudel Bridge (another link between Shawinigan and

Shawinigan-Sud Shawinigan-Sud is a predominantly French-speaking settlement in the Mauricie area in Quebec, Canada, on the Saint-Maurice River. In 1996, its population was 11,804. History Shawinigan-Sud was incorporated as a village in 1912 and was called Alm ...

across the

Saint-Maurice River The Saint-Maurice River (french: Rivière Saint-Maurice; Atikamekw: ''Tapiskwan sipi'') flows north to south in central Quebec from Gouin Reservoir to empty into the Saint Lawrence River at Trois-Rivières, in the province of Quebec, in Canada. F ...

); * Several playgrounds. He died on May 15, 1976, in Shawinigan. ''Rue Foucher'' in the Shawinigan-Nord neighbourhood was named to honour him. The ''Parc industriel J.-Armand-Foucher'' was also named after him in 2008.

Biography

Footnotes

See also