Jacob Nicol, (April 25, 1876 – September 23, 1958) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

lawyer, newspaper publisher, and politician.

Early life

Born in

Roxton Pond Roxton Pond is a municipality in the Canadian province of Quebec, located within La Haute-Yamaska Regional County Municipality. The population as of the 2021 Canadian Census was 4,224. The municipality was created in 1997 with the merger of the P ...

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 ...

, the son of Philip Nicol, farmer and tool manufacturer, and Sophie Cloutier, Nicol was educated at

Feller College Feller College, also known as Institut Feller, was a boarding school located in Grande-Ligne (now Saint-Blaise-sur-Richelieu) which closed its doors in 1967. History It was founded in 1836 by Henriette Feller of Lausanne, a Swiss Protestant mis ...

McMaster University McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood and Westdale, adjacent to the Royal Botanical Ga ...

, and

Université Laval Université Laval is a public research university in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The university was founded by royal charter issued by Queen Victoria in 1852, with roots in the founding of the Séminaire de Québec in 1663 by François de Montmo ...

à Québec. He studied law with Henry Thomas Duffy and

Louis-Alexandre Taschereau Louis-Alexandre Taschereau (; March 5, 1867 – July 6, 1952) was the 14th premier of Quebec from 1920 to 1936. He was a member of the Parti libéral du Québec. Early life Taschereau was born in Quebec City, Quebec, the son of Jean-Thoma ...

. He was called to the Quebec Bar in 1904 and was created a

King's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel ( post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or ...

in 1912.

Law career

He practiced law in Sherbrooke, Quebec with Wilfrid Lazure and Silfrid Couture until 1935. From 1906 to 1921, he was a

crown attorney Crown attorneys or crown counsel (or, in Alberta and New Brunswick, crown prosecutors) are the prosecutors in the legal system of Canada. Crown attorneys represent the Crown and act as prosecutor in proceedings under the Criminal Code and vario ...

for the District of St. Francis. From 1921 to 1931, he was a member the Board of Education of the Province of Quebec.

Newspaper owner

In 1910, he was one of the founders of the newspaper ''La Tribune'' in Sherbrooke, where he remained an owner until 1955. He was also an owner of the ''

Le Soleil Le Soleil ("The Sun") is the name of several newspapers: * ''Le Soleil'' (Quebec), a French-language daily newspaper in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, founded in 1896 * ''Le Soleil'' (French newspaper), a defunct daily newspaper based in Paris fro ...

'' in Quebec City from 1927 to 1948, '' L'Événement'' in 1936, ''L'Événement-Journal'' from 1938 to 1948, and ''Le Nouvelliste de Trois-Rivières'' until 1951. He also an owner of radio stations CHLN and CHLT. From 1945 to 1955, he was a director and vice-president at the

National Bank of Canada The National Bank of Canada (french: Banque Nationale du Canada) is the sixth largest commercial bank in Canada. It is headquartered in Montreal, and has branches in most Canadian provinces and 2.4 million personal clients. National Bank is the ...

Political career

He was acclaimed to 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 ...

for the district of

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

in a 1921 by-election. A Quebec Liberal, he was re-elected in

Compton Compton may refer to: Places Canada * Compton (electoral district), a former Quebec federal electoral district * Compton (provincial electoral district), a former Quebec provincial electoral district now part of Mégantic-Compton * Compton, Que ...

in 1923 and 1927. He was a Minister of Municipal Affairs in the cabinet of

from 1921 to 1924. He was the

Provincial Treasurer In Canadian politics the Provincial Treasurer is a senior portfolio in the Executive Council (or cabinet) of provincial governments. The position is the provincial equivalent of the Minister of Finance and is responsible for setting the provinc ...

from 1921 to 1929. In 1929, he was 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 ...

for the division of Bedford. He was speaker from 1930 to 1934 and leader of the government from 1934 to 1936. In 1934, he was a minister without portfolio in the cabinet of Taschereau. In 1944, he was summoned 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 ...

for the division of Bedford on the advice of

William Lyon Mackenzie King William Lyon Mackenzie King (December 17, 1874 – July 22, 1950) was a Canadian statesman and politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Canada for three non-consecutive terms from 1921 to 1926, 1926 to 1930, and 1935 to 1948. A Li ...

. He held both posts until his death.

Honours

He received honorary Doctor of Laws degrees from Bishop's College in 1927, McMaster University in 1928, and Laval University in 1952. He was made a Knight of the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

in 1948. He died in Sherbrooke in 1958.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nicol, Jacob 1876 births 1958 deaths Canadian newspaper publishers (people) Canadian senators from Quebec Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur Liberal Party of Canada senators Presidents of the Legislative Council of Quebec Lawyers in Quebec People from Montérégie Quebec Liberal Party MNAs Quebec Liberal Party MLCs Canadian King's Counsel Université Laval alumni