Jacques Viger (November 23, 1735 – January 21, 1798) was a political figure in

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 ...

Biography

He was born 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 ...

on November 23, 1735, the son of the shoemaker Jacques Viger. On May 7, 1764, he married Amaranthe Prévost, the daughter of Eustache Prévost and Marie-Madeleine Sarrault. In 1796, Jacques Viger was elected to the 2nd Parliament of Lower Canada for Kent County (later Chambly County) as a supporter of the

parti canadien The Parti canadien () or Parti patriote () was a primarily francophone political party in what is now Quebec founded by members of the liberal elite of Lower Canada at the beginning of the 19th century. Its members were made up of liberal pro ...

. His brother

Denis Viger Denis Viger (June 6, 1741 – June 16, 1805) was a carpenter, businessman and political figure in Lower Canada. He was born in Montreal in 1741, the son of a shoemaker. He worked as a carpenter and also carved wooden objects for the church ...

was also elected to the legislative assembly in Montreal East. He died on January 21, 1798. His son, Jacques Viger, was the first

mayor of Montreal The mayor of Montreal is head of the executive branch of the Montreal City Council. The current mayor is Valérie Plante, who was elected into office on November 5, 2017, and sworn in on November 16. The office of the mayor administers all c ...

and his nephew

Louis-Michel Viger Louis-Michel Viger (September 28, 1785 – May 27, 1855) was a Quebec lawyer, businessman, seigneur and political figure. He was born in Montreal in 1785 and studied at the Collège Saint-Raphaël at the same time as his cousin, Louis-Jos ...

became a lawyer and also served in the

Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada The Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada was the lower house of the bicameral structure of provincial government in Lower Canada until 1838. The legislative assembly was created by the Constitutional Act of 1791. The lower house consisted of ele ...

. His nephew Denis-Benjamin later played an important role in the politics of the province.

External links

* 1735 births 1798 deaths Members of the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada Pre-Confederation Quebec people {{Quebec-MNA-stub