Charles Marcil, (July 1, 1860 – January 29, 1937) was a longtime member of the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Common ...

and served as

Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerf ...

from 1909 to 1911. He was first elected to the House of Commons as a

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(MP) in the 1900 election and represented the riding of

Bonaventure Bonaventure ( ; it, Bonaventura ; la, Bonaventura de Balneoregio; 1221 – 15 July 1274), born Giovanni di Fidanza, was an Italian Catholic Franciscan, bishop, cardinal, scholastic theologian and philosopher. The seventh Minister G ...

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in the

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without interruption until his death in 1937. Marcil was born to a

French-Canadian French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco-Canadiens), refers to either an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to Fr ...

father and

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mother. His father's family settled in

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around 1665. Growing up in the

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- Hull area, he served as a House of Commons page, then went on to work as a journalist for the ''

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'' and several other newspapers. Marcil ran unsuccessfully as a candidate for the

Quebec Liberal Party The Quebec Liberal Party (QLP; french: Parti libéral du Québec, PLQ) is a provincial political party in Quebec. It has been independent of the federal Liberal Party of Canada since 1955. The QLP has always been associated with the colour red; e ...

in the 1897 provincial election before winning a

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in the federal

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in 1900. He worked hard to obtain projects for his community including the construction of bridges, lighthouses and the establishment of a ferry service. Marcil was nominated for the position of Speaker by

Wilfrid Laurier Sir Henri Charles Wilfrid Laurier, ( ; ; November 20, 1841 – February 17, 1919) was a Canadian lawyer, statesman, and politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Canada from 1896 to 1911. The first French Canadian prime minis ...

following the 1908 election. Despite initial opposition by

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, he was unanimously elected to the position. He was a popular Speaker and might have continued through a second Parliament had the Liberals not been defeated in the 1911 election. He returned to the

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es, and concurrently was elected to sit on

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's city council as an

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in 1918 while remaining an MP. From 1921 to 1931, he served as Chairman of the Liberal

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in Ottawa. He was

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from 1930 to his death in 1937. Charles Marcil was not the only member of his family to be involved in politics. In the late 19th Century, his uncle Doctor David Marsil was

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 ...

of Saint-Eustache,

from 1871 to 1875 and appointed to the

Legislative Council of Quebec The Legislative Council of Quebec (French; ''Conseil législatif du Québec'') was the unelected upper house of the bicameral legislature in the Canadian province of Quebec from 1867 to 1968. The Legislative Assembly of Quebec, Legislative Assem ...

in 1888. Charles Marcil's brother Georges was the last mayor of

Notre-Dame-de-Grâce Notre-Dame-de-Grâce ( en, Our Lady of Grace), also nicknamed NDG, is a residential neighbourhood of Montreal in the city's West End, with a population of 166,520 (2016). An independent municipality until annexed by the City of Montreal in 1910, ...

, before the city was annexed to

in 1910. Georges' granddaughter Susie Marcil was married to Daniel Johnson,

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in 1994. Another notable relative was Charles Marcil's maternal uncle,

Edward P. Doherty Edward Paul Doherty (September 26, 1838 – April 3, 1897) was a Canadian-American American Civil War officer who formed and led the detachment of soldiers that captured and killed John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of US President Abraham Lincol ...

, an

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

officer who formed and led the detachment of soldiers that captured and killed

John Wilkes Booth John Wilkes Booth (May 10, 1838 – April 26, 1865) was an American stage actor who assassinated United States President Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 1865. A member of the prominent 19th-century Booth th ...

, the assassin of

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Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

References

External links

*
History of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce with reference to Charles Marcil's brother Georges

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marcil, Charles 1860 births 1937 deaths Speakers of the House of Commons of Canada Laurier Liberals Liberal Party of Canada MPs Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Canadian people of Irish descent Quebecers of French descent People from Laurentides