Joseph-Napoléon Francoeur (December 13, 1880 – July 25, 1965) was a lawyer, judge and political figure in

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 ...

. He represented Lotbinière in the Legislative Assembly of Quebec from 1908 to 1936 and Lotbinière in the House of Commons of Canada from 1937 to 1940 as a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

. Francoeur was

Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Speaker of the Legislative Assembly is a title commonly held by Speaker (politics), presiding officers of parliamentary bodies styled Legislative Assembly, legislative assemblies. The office is most widely used in state and territorial legislatures ...

from 1919 to 1928. He was born in

Cap-Saint-Ignace, Quebec Cap-Saint-Ignace is a municipality in the Montmagny Regional County Municipality within the Chaudière-Appalaches region of Quebec, Canada. It is located on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River, 70 km east of Quebec City on Route ...

, the son of Auguste Francoeur and Avila Caron, and was educated at the

Séminaire de Québec The Seminary of Quebec (French: Séminaire de Québec) is a Catholic community of diocesan priests in Quebec City founded by Bishop François de Laval, the first bishop of New France in 1663. History The Séminaire de Québec is a Society of d ...

and the

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 Montm ...

. He was admitted to the Quebec bar in 1904 and set up practice in

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 ...

. Francoeur practised in partnership with

Philippe-Auguste Choquette Philippe-Auguste Choquette (January 6, 1854 – December 20, 1948) was a Canadians, Canadian House of Commons of Canada, Member of Parliament and Senate of Canada, Senator. Biography He was born on January 6, 1854, in Beloeil, Quebec, Belo ...

Antonin Galipeault Antonin Galipeault (August 7, 1879 – May 12, 1971) was a Québécois politician, lawyer and judge . Biography Antonin Galipeault studied at a seminary in Joliette and at Université Laval, later being admitted to the Bar of Quebec in 19 ...

and Thomas Vien, among others. In 1913, he was named King's Counsel. He ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the Quebec assembly in

1904 Events January * January 7 – The distress signal ''CQD'' is established, only to be replaced 2 years later by ''SOS''. * January 8 – The Blackstone Library is dedicated, marking the beginning of the Chicago Public Library syst ...

before being elected in

1908 Events January * January 1 – The British ''Nimrod'' Expedition led by Ernest Shackleton sets sail from New Zealand on the ''Nimrod'' for Antarctica. * January 3 – A total solar eclipse is visible in the Pacific Ocean, and is the 4 ...

. In 1918, he prepared the Francœur Motion in response to anti-Quebec sentiment following the conscription crisis during

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 ...

. Francoeur served in the provincial cabinet as Minister of Public Works and Labour from 1930 to 1931, as Minister of Public Works from 1931 to 1936 and as Minister of Mines and Minister of Labour from 1935 to 1936. He was defeated when he ran for reelection to the provincial assembly in

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...

. Francoeur was elected to the House of Commons in a 1937 by-election held following the death of Joseph-Achille Verville. He resigned his seat in 1940 after he was named judge in the

Court of King's Bench The King's Bench (), or, during the reign of a female monarch, the Queen's Bench ('), refers to several contemporary and historical courts in some Commonwealth jurisdictions. * Court of King's Bench (England), a historic court court of common ...

, serving until 1945. He died in Quebec City at the age of 84. His brother Joseph-Achille also served in the Quebec assembly.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Francoeur, Joseph-Napoleon Presidents of the National Assembly of Quebec Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Quebec Liberal Party of Canada MPs Quebec Liberal Party MNAs Judges in Quebec 1880 births 1965 deaths People from Chaudière-Appalaches Université Laval alumni Canadian King's Counsel