François-Xavier Pagé (May 30, 1833 – February 24, 1912) was a farmer and political figure in

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

. He was a member of the

Convention of Forty Convention may refer to: * Convention (norm), a custom or tradition, a standard of presentation or conduct ** Treaty, an agreement in international law * Convention (meeting), meeting of a (usually large) group of individuals and/or companies in ...

and served in the Legislative Assembly of Assiniboia. His brother, Alexandre Pagé, was also a representative to the Convention of Forty.

Life

François-Xavier Pagé was born on 30 May 1833 in

St. François Xavier, Manitoba St. François Xavier is an unincorporated urban centre located in the Rural Municipality of St. François Xavier, Manitoba, Canada. It is located about 15 km west of the city of Winnipeg on the Assiniboine River. Settled around 1824 as Grantown, ...

, to Joseph Pagé (b. 1783) and Agathe Letendré (b. 1790). He married Philomène Lavallée (b. November 8 , 1843, in

Saint Boniface Boniface, OSB ( la, Bonifatius; 675 – 5 June 754) was an English Benedictines, Benedictine monk and leading figure in the Anglo-Saxon mission to the Germanic parts of the Frankish Empire during the eighth century. He organised significant ...

), daughter of François Lavallée and Josephte Morin. The couple had 14 children. According to the Red River Relief Committee, in 1867 Xavier Pagé had 1 horse, 3

oxen An ox ( : oxen, ), also known as a bullock (in BrE British English (BrE, en-GB, or BE) is, according to Oxford Dictionaries, "English as used in Great Britain, as distinct from that used elsewhere". More narrowly, it can refer spec ...

, and only harvested 40

bushels A bushel (abbreviation: bsh. or bu.) is an imperial and US customary unit of volume based upon an earlier measure of dry capacity. The old bushel is equal to 2 kennings (obsolete), 4 pecks, or 8 dry gallons, and was used mostly for agricultu ...

of wheat, suggesting that he made his living as a tripman for cart brigades. Pagé was one of the representatives of Saint-François-Xavier to the Convention of Forty in January 1870 at the Red River Colony. On 19 January, Pagé was one of the four members of this convention (along with

Ambroise-Dydime Lépine Ambroise-Dydime Lépine (18 March 1840 – 8 June 1923) was a Métis politician, farmer, and military leader under the command of Louis Riel during the Red River Rebellion of 1869–1870. He was tried and sentenced to death for his role in t ...

, John Sutherland, and John Fraser) who went to find out if

William MacTavish William Mactavish (29 March 1815 – 23 July 1870) was a Scottish Hudson's Bay Company clerk, accountant, and chief trader. Mainly known for his dual-position as Governor of Assiniboia, and Governor of Rupert's Land, he played a major role ...

still considered himself the governor of Assiniboia. MacTavish responded that he was devoid of all authority and strongly urged the formation of a new government. Returning to the convention with this news, Pagé raised the motion to adopt the Provisional Government with Louis Riel as president, becoming a councilor of the Provisional Government when it was formed. Pagé was sent out as a scout for the Métis at the approach of the Red River Expeditionary Force and was arrested along with François-Xavier Dauphinais and

Pierre Poitras Pierre Poitras (1810 – July 31, 1889) was a political figure in Manitoba, Canada. He was a member of the Convention of Forty and served in the Legislative Assembly of Assiniboia The Legislative Assembly of Assiniboia (french: Assemblée législat ...

on 24 August 1870. He was called upon to testify at the trial of Ambroise Lépine in 1874. He died in St. François Xavier at the age of 78.

References

1833 births 1912 deaths Members of the Legislative Assembly of Assiniboia People of the Red River Rebellion {{Manitoba-politician-stub Canadian Métis people