Augustin-Guillaume Ruel (April 17, 1805 – September 29, 1871) was a notary and political figure in

Canada East Canada East (french: links=no, Canada-Est) was the northeastern portion of the United Province of Canada. Lord Durham's Report investigating the causes of the Upper and Lower Canada Rebellions recommended merging those two colonies. The new ...

, in the Province of Canada (now Quebec). He represented Bellechasse in 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 ...

from 1841 to 1842. He opposed the union of Lower Canada and Upper Canada into the Province of Canada. He was born in Quebec City, the son of Louis Ruel and Josephte Magnan. He was licensed as a notary in 1829 and set up practice in Berthier. Following the rebellion in Lower Canada, and the similar rebellion in 1837 in Upper Canada (now Ontario), the British government decided to merge the two provinces into a single province, as recommended by Lord Durham in the Durham Report. The ''Union Act, 1840'', passed by the British Parliament, abolished the two provinces and their separate parliaments, and created the Province of Canada, with a single parliament for the entire province, composed of an elected Legislative Assembly and an appointed Legislative Council. The Governor General retained a strong position in the government.''Union Act, 1840''
3 & 4 Vict. (UK), c. 35, s. 3. Ruel stood unopposed for election in the 1841 general election in the new Province of Canada and was acclaimed to the first Legislative Assembly. He was recognised as an anti-unionist, opposed to the creation of the new Province. He also supported Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine, who was emerging as a leader amongst the French-Canadian members.Cornell
''Alignment of Political Groups in Canada, 1841–67''
pp. 5, 7, 9. Ruel was frequently absent during the 1841 session of the Parliament. He resigned his seat on January 1, 1842 after he was named registrar for the Rimouski judicial district.J.O. Côté
''Political Appointments and Elections in the Province of Canada, 1841 to 1860''
(Quebec: St. Michel and Darveau, 1860), p. 59, note (3). Ruel's sister Henriette-Émilie married

Octave-Cyrille Fortier Octave-Cyrille Fortier (August 1, 1810 – 1872 or later) was a physician and political figure in Canada East. He represented Bellechasse in the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from 1854 to 1861. He was born in Quebec City, the son ...

, who was later elected to the Bellechasse riding. Ruel never married. He died in Quebec City at the age of 62 and was buried at the church of Notre-Dame de l'Assomption, at Berthier.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruel, Augustin-Guillaume 1805 births 1871 deaths Lawyers in Quebec Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from Canada East Pre-Confederation Quebec people

See also

References