Joseph Michel Fournier (September 29, 1905 – December 6, 1992) was a Canadian politician. Born in the village of

Pointe-Verte, New Brunswick Pointe-Verte (2016 pop: 886) is a Canadian village in Gloucester County, New Brunswick. Located on Chaleur Bay 30 km north of Bathurst, the village's main industry is lobster and scallop fishing, as well as forestry. The community is s ...

, Michel Fournier was educated at the academy in Tracadie and graduated in 1927 with a BA degree from

University of St. Joseph's College The University of St. Joseph's College was a university in Memramcook, New Brunswick that closed in 1966, when it amalgamated with two other colleges to form the Université de Moncton. Founded in 1864 as St. Joseph's College on the site of St. ...

Memramcook Memramcook, sometimes also spelled Memramcouke or Memramkouke, is a village in Westmorland County, New Brunswick, Canada. Located in south-eastern New Brunswick, the community is predominantly people of Acadian descent who speak the Chiac deri ...

. A farmer who was active in his industry, Michel Fournier was a director of the Green Point Co-Op. Involved in local politics, he served as a Gloucester County counsellor from 1935 to 1939.

New Brunswick Legislative Assembly

Fournier was elected to the

40th New Brunswick Legislative Assembly The 40th New Brunswick Legislative Assembly represented New Brunswick between February 20, 1945, and May 8, 1948. It was elected in the 1944 New Brunswick general election and subsequent by-elections. William George Clark served as Lieutenant-Go ...

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 in the Gloucester riding in a by-election triggered when

Clovis-Thomas Richard Clovis-Thomas Richard (May 8, 1892 – August 22, 1976) was a Canadian lawyer and political figure in the Province of New Brunswick. He was born in South Framingham, Massachusetts and raised in College Bridge, New Brunswick. He was educated at ...

resigned to run in the

1945 Canadian federal election The 1945 Canadian federal election was held on June 11, 1945, to elect members of the House of Commons of the 20th Parliament of Canada. Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King's Liberal government was re-elected to its third consecutive term, ...

. He was reelected in 1948, 1952, 1956 and 1960. Following his party taking power in the

1960 New Brunswick general election The 1960 New Brunswick general election was held on June 27, 1960, to elect 52 members to the 44th New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, the governing house of the province of New Brunswick, Canada. The election resulted in the defeat of the incumb ...

, new

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

Louis Robichaud appointed Fournier 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 ...

as Minister of Industry and Development on July 12, 1960. He served in that position until April 22, 1963.

Senate of Canada

On December 9, 1971, Canadian Prime Minister

Pierre Trudeau Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau ( , ; October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000), also referred to by his initials PET, was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada The prime mini ...

appointed Michel Fournier to the

Senate of Canada The Senate of Canada (french: region=CA, Sénat du Canada) is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the House of Commons, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The Senate is modelled after the B ...

where he was active on several committees including the Special Committee on Retirement Age Policies and the

Standing Committee on Agriculture The Standing Committee on Agriculture is a committee of the Australian House of Representatives. The committee is a "General Purpose Standing Committee" governed by Standing Order 215. It consists of nine members, five government members and fo ...

. He served in the Senate until his mandatory retirement at age seventy-five on September 29, 1980.

References

*
Government of New Brunswick, list of Department ministers 1944–2003
(PDF file) 1905 births 1992 deaths St. Joseph's College alumni 20th-century Canadian farmers New Brunswick Liberal Association MLAs Members of the Executive Council of New Brunswick Liberal Party of Canada senators Canadian senators from New Brunswick People from Gloucester County, New Brunswick New Brunswick municipal councillors {{NewBrunswick-MLA-stub