Irénée Vautrin was a Canadian politician from

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 ...

Background

He was born on December 21, 1888, near

Napierville Napierville is a municipality in the Jardins de Napierville Regional County Municipality in Quebec, Canada, situated in the Montérégie administrative region. The population as of the 2021 Canadian Census was 4,020. It is the location of the ...

and became an architect.

Member of Legislative Assembly

Vautrin ran 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 ...

candidate for 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 ...

in the 1919 election for the district of

Montréal–Saint-Jacques Montréal–Saint-Jacques was a former provincial electoral district in the Montreal region of Quebec, Canada that elected members to the Legislative Assembly of Quebec. It was created for the 1912 election from part of Montréal division no. 2 ...

and won but was defeated by the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

candidate Joseph-Ambroise-Eusèbe Beaudoin in the 1923 election. He was re-elected in the 1927 and

1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...

elections. He served as Deputy

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

from 1930 to 1934.

Cabinet Member

Vautrin was appointed to the

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

and served as Deputy House Speaker from 1930 to 1934,

Minister without Portfolio A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister who does not head a particular ministry. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet w ...

in 1934 and Minister of Colonization from 1934 until his defeat in the 1935 election by the Conservative candidate

Henry Lemaître Auger Henry Lemaître Auger (1873–1948) was a Canadian politician and a two-term Member of the Legislative Assembly of Quebec. Background He was born in Massachusetts on May 2, 1873 and married Marie-Éva Héroux in Trois-Rivières, Mauricie i ...

. Soon after he left office, Vautrin appeared before the ''Standing Committee on Public Accounts'' and became one of the favourite targets of Conservative Leader

Maurice Duplessis Maurice Le Noblet Duplessis (; April 20, 1890 – September 7, 1959), was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 16th premier of Quebec. A conservative, nationalist, anti-Communist, anti-unionist and fervent Catholic, he and hi ...

, who exposed the corrupt practices of the Liberal government. The undesired attention earned Vautrin, who had bought pants by the colonization fund, the unflattering nickname ''Les culottes à Vautrin''.

Death

He died on February 2, 1974, 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 ...

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.

Footnotes

1888 births 1974 deaths Quebec Liberal Party MNAs Vice Presidents of the National Assembly of Quebec Burials at Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery {{Liberal-Quebec-MNA-stub