Beaudry Leman (January 2, 1878 – 1951) 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 ...

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

and

banker A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

. He was the third mayor of Shawinigan Falls, Quebec (1902–1908). He was general manager of the Banque d'Hochelaga (1914–1924) and general manager (1924–1933) and president (1934–1947) of the

Banque Canadienne Nationale The Banque Canadienne Nationale was a bank based in the province of Quebec, Canada. It was formed in 1924 from the merger of the Banque d'Hochelaga and the Banque Nationale, and operated until 1979, when it became part of the National Bank of Can ...

Biography

Engineering

Jean-Baptiste-Beaudry Leman was born in 1878 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 ...

, the son of Joseph Leman (1842–1885), physician, and Polyxène Beaudry (1842–1917). From 1895 to 1899, he studied at

université catholique de Lille The Université catholique de Lille (also known as the Catholic University of Lille), also « University and Polytechnic Federation of Lille » is a private collegiate university of Catholic-inspired institutions established in 1875. The u ...

, where he obtained the title of civil engineer. Back in Montreal in 1899, he studied one year at

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

and obtained the diploma of engineer. In 1900, he became an engineer with the

Shawinigan Water & Power Company Established in 1898, the Shawinigan Water & Power Company was one of the dominant, privately owned hydroelectric companies in Canada until 1963, when it became a part of Hydro-Québec. History Shawinigan Water & Power Company was founded on Ja ...

."M. Beaudry Leman", in Raphaël Ouimet, éd., ''Biographies canadiennes françaises'', treizième édition, Montréal, 1937, 461 p., p. 129. Reproduced online a
Quebec History
Marianopolis College He moved to Shawinigan Falls in 1900. He took part in the installation of the power plant and of the distribution network of the SW&P. In 1902, Leman was elected mayor of the City of Shawinigan Falls in a close contest, winning only by a single ballot against J.A. Frigon. Leman was reelected as mayor in 1904 and in 1906. In 1906, he left the Shawinigan Water & Power Company and became involved in the construction of the Saint Maurice Valley railroad. In 1907, he left Shawinigan Falls and resigned as mayor, but his resignation became official in 1908. in 1907, he moved to Montreal, where he was involved in construction works such as canalization and hydroelectric works.

Banking

On May 12, 1908, Beaudry Leman married Caroline Béique, daughter of

Frédéric Liguori Béique Frédéric Liguori Béique, (May 20, 1845 – September 12, 1933) was a Canadian lawyer and politician. Born in Saint-Mathias, Quebec, he was trained as a lawyer and was called to the Quebec Bar in 1868. On 15 April 1875 at Saint-Jacques ...

, one of the founders of the Banque d'Hochelaga. In 1912, Leman entered in the service of the Banque d'Hochelaga, initially as superintendent of the bank's branches. In 1914, he was appointed general manager of the bank. In 1924, when the Banque d'Hochelaga and the Banque Nationale merged to form the Banque Canadienne Nationale, Leman became general manager of the merged bank, and he held that position until 1933. In 1933, Leman became vice-president of the Banque Canadienne Nationale, and in 1934 he became the president of the bank, holding that position until 1947. In 1947, he became chairman of the board. Leman was appointed as a member of several advisory committees by the federal government. He was a member of the advisory committee on the canalisation of the

St. Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connecting ...

. In 1931–1932, he was a member of the Royal Commission to Inquire into Railways and Transportation in Canada. In 1933, he was a member of the Royal Commission on Banking and Currency in Canada, created by the Bennett government. Three of the five members of the commission recommended the creation of the

Bank of Canada The Bank of Canada (BoC; french: Banque du Canada) is a Crown corporation and Canada's central bank. Chartered in 1934 under the ''Bank of Canada Act'', it is responsible for formulating Canada's monetary policy,OECD. OECD Economic Surveys: Ca ...

, although Beaudry Leman was one of the two minority members opposed to that creation. He was director of many companies, including Shawinigan Water & Power, Quebec Power,

Canada Steamship Lines Canada Steamship Lines (CSL) is a shipping company with headquarters in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The business has been operating for well over a century and a half. Beginnings CSL had humble beginnings in Canada East in 1845, operating river boa ...

, Fairchild Aircraft, Ogilvie Flour Mills, Delaware & Hudson Railway Corp., Montreal Tramways, Provincial Transport Co., Canadian Airways Ltd, Consolidated Bakeries, and Crédit Foncier Franco Canadien. He was vice-president of Allied War Supplies Ltd. Leman Beaudry Pierre tombale

He died in 1951 and was entombed at 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 ...

in Montreal. ''Avenue Beaudry-Leman'', in the Sainte-Croix neighborhood in Shawinigan, was named to honor him. The Jean-Baptiste-Beaudry-Leman house, built in 1936, is located in the

Outremont Outremont is an affluent residential borough (''arrondissement'') of the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It consists entirely of the former city on the Island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec. The neighbourhood is inhabited largely by franc ...

neighbourhood in Montreal. It was one of the first international-style houses built in Montreal.patrimoine.ville.montreal.qc.ca
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Brochures

Written versions of some of Beaudry Leman's speeches were published as brochures. *''Les institutions de crédit'', Bibliothèque de l'Action française, 1920, 15 p. *''Trois chapitres d'histoire monétaire canadienne'', 1940, 6 p. * omments on the''Rapport Rowell-Sirois'', 1941, 17 p. *''Commentaires sur l'économie de guerre'', 1942, 15 p. *''Comments arising from the revision of the Bank Act'', 1944, 19 p. *''Hier et demain, Recueil de causeries'', Banque canadienne nationale, 1952, 242 p.

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leman, Beaudry 1878 births 1951 deaths McGill University Faculty of Engineering alumni Canadian engineers Mayors of Shawinigan Canadian bank presidents Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur Burials at Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery