Jean-Baptiste-Éric Dorion (September 17, 1826 – November 1, 1866) was a journalist and political figure in

Canada East Canada East (french: links=no, Canada-Est) was the northeastern portion of the United Province of Canada. Lord Durham's Report investigating the causes of the Upper and Lower Canada Rebellions recommended merging those two colonies. The new ...

. He was born in

Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pérade Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pérade () is a municipality in the Les Chenaux Regional County Municipality, in the Mauricie region of the province of Quebec in Canada. The town is located near the mouth of the Sainte-Anne River along the ''Chemin du Roy'', ...

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 1826, the son of

Pierre-Antoine Dorion Pierre-Antoine Dorion (ca. 1789 – September 12, 1850) was a businessman and political figure in Lower Canada. He was born in Lower Canada around 1789. He worked as a clerk in a store at Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pérade for Pierre Bureau and then ...

. In 1842, he found work as a clerk in a store at

Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières (, – 'Three Rivers') is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada, at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice River, Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence River, Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Sain ...

. He was editor and publisher of a small newspaper there, ''Gros Jean l'Escogriffe''. He moved to

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 ...

in 1844 and helped found the

Institut canadien de Montréal The Institut canadien de Montréal (English; Canadian Institute of Montreal) was founded on 17 December 1844, by a group of 200 young liberal professionals in Montreal, Canada East, Province of Canada. The Institute provided a public library and d ...

. In 1847, he helped launch '' L'Avenir'' with George Batchelor. In the same year, he also helped found the Société Mercantile d’Économie, an association for store clerks, and served as secretary. He supported annexation to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. In 1852, ''L'Avenir'' ceased publication. Shortly afterward, Dorion moved to Durham (later L'Avenir). 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 Drummond and Athabaska. He opposed the bill to abolish seigneurial tenure because he felt it was unfair to settlers. He was defeated in the 1857 election, but reelected in 1861 and 1863. In 1862, he founded another newspaper, ''Le Défricheur''. He opposed

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 ...

, because he thought that the provinces would be dominated by the federal government. He died in L'Avenir in 1866 after suffering a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

. His older brother Antoine-Aimé was a lawyer, member of the Legislative Assembly, co-premier for the Province of Canada and member of the Canadian House of Commons.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dorion, Jean-Baptiste-Eric 1826 births 1866 deaths Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from Canada East People from Mauricie