Arthur Turcotte (January 19, 1845 – October 12, 1905) was a

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 ...

lawyer, journalist and political figure. He was born Arthur-Henri-René Turcotte in

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 ...

in 1845, the son of

Joseph-Édouard Turcotte Joseph-Édouard Turcotte (October 10, 1808 – December 20, 1864) was a lawyer and political figure in Canada East. He was born in Gentilly, Lower Canada in 1808. He studied at the Séminaire de Nicolet. In 1831, he lost his right arm in an a ...

. He studied at the

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

Collège Sainte-Marie de Montréal Collège Sainte-Marie was a college in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It ceased to exist in 1969, when it was merged into UQAM (Université du Québec à Montréal). History Collège Ste-Marie was founded by Jesuits in 1848. It had an English secto ...

and at

Stonyhurst College Stonyhurst College is a co-educational Catholic Church, Roman Catholic independent school, adhering to the Society of Jesus, Jesuit tradition, on the Stonyhurst, Stonyhurst Estate, Lancashire, England. It occupies a Grade I listed building. Th ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. He then studied law at the

Université Laval Université Laval is a public research university in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The university was founded by royal charter issued by Queen Victoria in 1852, with roots in the founding of the Séminaire de Québec in 1663 by François de Montmo ...

and

McGill McGill is a surname of Scottish and Irish origin, from which the names of many places and organizations are derived. It may refer to: People * McGill (surname) (including a list of individuals with the surname) * McGill family (Monrovia), a promin ...

and was called to the bar in 1867. He began practice 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 ...

. In 1872, he served as parliamentary correspondent in the provincial assembly for ''Le Canadien''. In 1873, he became a member of the town council in Trois-Rivières and served as mayor from July 1876 to July 1877. Turcotte was elected to the

Legislative Assembly of Quebec The Legislative Assembly of Quebec (French: ''Assemblée législative du Québec'') was the name of the lower house of Quebec's legislature from 1867 to December 31, 1968, when it was renamed the National Assembly of Quebec. At the same time, t ...

for

in an 1876 by-election as an independent Conservative; he was re-elected in 1878. Turcotte served as speaker of the assembly from 1878 to 1882. He was named

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...

in 1878. In 1879, he helped found ''La Concorde'', becoming its editor. He was defeated in 1881, now running as a

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 ...

but, after his opponent was unseated because he was accused of bribery, won the seat in an 1884 by-election; he was re-elected in 1886. Turcotte condemned the actions of the

federal government A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...

during the

North-West Rebellion The North-West Rebellion (french: Rébellion du Nord-Ouest), also known as the North-West Resistance, was a resistance by the Métis people under Louis Riel and an associated uprising by First Nations Cree and Assiniboine of the District of S ...

, was part of the campaign in Quebec to save

Louis Riel Louis Riel (; ; 22 October 1844 – 16 November 1885) was a Canadian politician, a founder of the province of Manitoba, and a political leader of the Métis people. He led two resistance movements against the Government of Canada and its first ...

and supported autonomy for the

Métis people The Métis ( ; Canadian ) are Indigenous peoples who inhabit Canada's three Prairie Provinces, as well as parts of British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, and the Northern United States. They have a shared history and culture which derives ...

. In 1884, after ''La Concorde'' ceased publication, he helped establish a new newspaper, ''La Sentinelle''. In 1887, he was named minister without portfolio in 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 ...

Honoré Mercier Honoré Mercier (October 15, 1840 – October 30, 1894) was a Canadian lawyer, journalist and politician in Quebec. He was the ninth premier of Quebec from January 27, 1887, to December 21, 1891, as leader of the Parti National or Quebec Libera ...

and served as attorney general from 1888 to 1890. He was defeated in the 1890 election. Later that year, Turcotte was appointed

protonotary The word prothonotary is recorded in English since 1447, as "principal clerk of a court," from L.L. ''prothonotarius'' ( c. 400), from Greek ''protonotarios'' "first scribe," originally the chief of the college of recorders of the court of the B ...

for the

Superior Court In common law systems, a superior court is a court of general jurisdiction over civil and criminal legal cases. A superior court is "superior" in relation to a court with limited jurisdiction (see small claims court), which is restricted to civil ...

in Montreal district and served until his death in Montreal in 1905. He was buried in Trois-Rivières. His brother Gustave-Adolphe served as a member of the House of Commons.

References

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Turcotte, Arthur 1845 births 1905 deaths Quebec Liberal Party MNAs People educated at Stonyhurst College Presidents of the National Assembly of Quebec Mayors of Trois-Rivières Journalists from Montreal Politicians from Montreal Lawyers from Montreal Canadian King's Counsel