François Bourassa (June 5, 1813 – May 13, 1898) 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 ...

farmer and political figure. He represented Saint-Jean in 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 ...

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 ...

member from 1867 to 1896. He was born in Sainte-Marguerite-de-Blairfindie,

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada (french: province du Bas-Canada) was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence (1791–1841). It covered the southern portion of the current Province of Quebec an ...

in 1813. His father, also named François, was the first mayor of the town. He took part in the Lower Canada Rebellion, was arrested but later released and later served as captain in the local militia. He settled at Saint-Jean and represented the town on the council for Chambly County. In 1854, he was elected to 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 ...

for Saint-Jean as a member of the

parti rouge The Red Party (french: Parti rouge, or french: Parti démocratique) was a political group that contested elections in the Eastern section of the Province of Canada. It was formed around 1847 by radical French-Canadians inspired by the ideas of L ...

; he served under the Canadian

Confederation A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a union of sovereign groups or states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

, when he was elected to the federal parliament, although he opposed confederation. Bourassa spoke no English. He retired from politics in 1896. He served as mayor of

l'Acadie Acadia (french: link=no, Acadie) was a colony of New France in northeastern North America which included parts of what are now the Maritime provinces, the Gaspé Peninsula and Maine to the Kennebec River. During much of the 17th and early 18t ...

in 1858. He died in

Saint-Valentin Saint-Valentin () is a commune in the Indre department in central France. Population See also *Communes of the Indre department The following is a list of the 241 communes of the Indre department of France. The communes cooperate in the ...

in 1898. His brother

Napoléon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

was a Quebec painter, writer, sculptor and architect and his nephew Henri Bourassa served in 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 ...

and the House of Commons.

Electoral record

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bourassa, Francois 1813 births 1898 deaths Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from Canada East Liberal Party of Canada MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Quebec Mayors of places in Quebec