Jean Léon Côté (May 26, 1867 – September 23, 1924) was a prominent French-Canadian politician. He served as a member of the

Legislative Assembly of Alberta The Legislative Assembly of Alberta is the deliberative assembly of the province of Alberta, Canada. It sits in the Alberta Legislature Building in Edmonton. The Legislative Assembly currently has 87 members, elected first past the post from sin ...

from 1909 until 1923 sitting with the

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in both government and opposition. He vacated his provincial seat when he was appointed to the Senate of Canada in 1923. He served until his death in 1924 sitting with the federal Liberal caucus.

Early life

Jean Léon Côté was born on May 26, 1867, in the village of Les Éboulements, Canada East, to Cléophas and Denise Côté. Côté was a surveyor and civil engineer by trade, and first visited the

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

area in 1886 as part of a survey crew. He returned to the East and trained as a

Dominion Land Survey The Dominion Land Survey (DLS; french: links=no, arpentage des terres fédérales, ATF) is the method used to divide most of Western Canada into one-square-mile (2.6 km2) sections for agricultural and other purposes. It is based on the layout ...

or for the Department of the Interior, where he worked from 1893 to 1900. He participated in a number of high-profile projects, including the Alaska Boundary Commission.

Political career

Côté ran for a seat to the Alberta Legislature in the 1909 Alberta general election. He stood as the Liberal candidate in the electoral district of

Athabasca Athabasca (also Athabaska) is an anglicized version of the Cree name for Lake Athabasca in Canada, āthap-āsk-ā-w (pronounced ), meaning "grass or reeds here and there". Most places named Athabasca are found in Alberta, Canada. Athabasca may a ...

defeating incumbent Liberal candidate William Bredin in a hotly contested race. The 1913 boundary redistribution added a number of new electoral districts to the province. Côté ran for re-election in the new electoral district of

Grouard Grouard, also known as Grouard Mission, is a hamlet in northern Alberta within Big Lakes County. It was previously an incorporated municipality between 1909 and 1944. Grouard is located north of Highway 2, approximately northeast of Grande ...

for the election held that year. He won a comfortable margin of victory over the Conservative candidate to pick up the new seat for his party. Côté ran for a third term in office in the

1917 Alberta general election The 1917 Alberta general election was held on 7 June 1917 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. The Liberals won a fourth term in office, defeating the Conservative Party of Edward Michener. Because of World War I, eleven Me ...

. He significantly increased his popular vote winning a landslide in the two way race. After the election Côté was appointed to a provincial cabinet post in 1918. He assumed the responsibility of the Provincial Secretary position, and held it until his government was defeated in 1921. Côté ran for a fourth term in office in the 1921 Alberta general election. He held his seat in a very hotly contested race over United Farmers candidate H.G. Dimsdale. Côté managed to hang on despite most of the Liberal caucus getting swept out of office. Côté was appointed to the Senate of Canada on the advice of Mackenzie King on August 14, 1923 to represent

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

. He sat with the Liberal Party of Canada caucus. Côté vacated his seat in the Legislature on November 10, 1923. He held his seat for a year until he died on September 23, 1924.

Personal life

Jean Côté married Cécile Gagnon, who came from a wealthy

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the metropolitan area had a population of 839,311. It is t ...

family, on February 4, 1907, and together had four children. His son Ernest Côté, a soldier and a diplomat.

Honours

Mount Côté located along the Alberta-British Columbia border, and the Hamlet of Jean Cote, Alberta in the Municipal District of Smoky River No. 130 is named after Côté.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cote, Jean 1867 births 1924 deaths Liberal Party of Canada senators Canadian senators from Alberta Alberta Liberal Party MLAs Members of the Executive Council of Alberta Franco-Albertan people People from Capitale-Nationale