John Samuel Bourque (September 8, 1894 – March 5, 1974) was a

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 ...

politician,

Cabinet Minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ‘prime minister’, � ...

, military member and businessman. He was the Member of

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 riding of

Sherbrooke Sherbrooke ( ; ) is a city in southern Quebec, Canada. It is at the confluence of the Saint-François and Magog rivers in the heart of the Estrie administrative region. Sherbrooke is also the name of a territory equivalent to a regional count ...

for 25 years. Born in

, Quebec, Bourque studied at the Petit Séminaire de Saint-Charles-Borromée in Sherbrooke, before being enrolled in the 22nd (French Canadian) Battalion, CEF, as a soldier and sergeant where he participated in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

in the United Kingdom. He was also a colonel, sergeant, major and lieutenant-colonel for the Sherbrooke Fusilliers. He retired from the military service in 1943. While being in military duties, he was also a businessman running a lumber store. Bourque was first elected in

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude Franco-Italian Agreement of 1935, an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * ...

as a member of the

Action libérale nationale The Action libérale nationale (ALN)('National Liberal Action') was a short-lived provincial political party in Quebec, Canada. It was founded during the Great Depression and led by Paul Gouin. The ALN played an important role in the foundatio ...

which shortly after was merged with the Quebec Conservative Party to form the Union Nationale. He was re-elected for six additional terms until the

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...

elections in which he lost to the

Quebec Liberal Party The Quebec Liberal Party (QLP; french: Parti libéral du Québec, PLQ) is a provincial political party in Quebec. It has been independent of the federal Liberal Party of Canada since 1955. The QLP has always been associated with the colour red; e ...

candidate. He served for several ministries in the

Maurice Duplessis Maurice Le Noblet Duplessis (; April 20, 1890 – September 7, 1959), was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 16th premier of Quebec. A conservative, nationalist, anti-Communist, anti-unionist and fervent Catholic, he and his ...

Cabinet. He was the Minister of

Public Works Public works are a broad category of infrastructure projects, financed and constructed by the government, for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the greater community. They include public buildings ( municipal buildings, sc ...

from 1936 to 1939, Minister of Land and Forests from 1938 to 1939 and from 1944 to 1958, Minister of

Hydraulic Hydraulics (from Greek: Υδραυλική) is a technology and applied science using engineering, chemistry, and other sciences involving the mechanical properties and use of liquids. At a very basic level, hydraulics is the liquid counter ...

Resources from 1945 to 1958 and Minister of Finances from 1958 to 1960.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bourque, John Samuel 1894 births 1974 deaths Action libérale nationale MNAs Union Nationale (Quebec) MNAs Businesspeople from Sherbrooke Politicians from Sherbrooke Canadian Expeditionary Force soldiers