Joseph Bourret (10 June 1802 – 5 March 1859) was a 19th-century Canadian lawyer, banker and politician. Bourret was educated at the Classical College at Nicolet, Quebec. After clerking for three years for his uncle, Bourret was admitted to the bar in 1823. He practiced law at his uncle's office for ten years. When his uncle died, he entered into a partnership with a well known lawyer, Toussaint Pelletier. He was appointed to the city council by the colonial government in 1840. He was elected councilor for the Centre Quarter in 1842 and the Quartier St. Antoine from 1846 until 1852. (At that time, municipal politicians often served in the provincial legislature). Bourret was the third (1842-1844) and sixth (1847-1849)

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 ...

, Quebec, and served as minister of public works in the Lafontaine-Baldwin government. Bourret also served on the legislative council of Canada from 1848 until his death in 1859. Bourret was supported by

Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine Sir Louis-Hippolyte Ménard '' dit'' La Fontaine, 1st Baronet, KCMG (October 4, 1807 – February 26, 1864) was a Canadian politician who served as the first Premier of the United Province of Canada and the first head of a responsible governmen ...

because as a moderate, he was acceptable to the rich Anglo-Saxons who formed the majority of the

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 ...

electorate. While Lafontaine and Bourret supported

responsible government Responsible government is a conception of a system of government that embodies the principle of parliamentary accountability, the foundation of the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy. Governments (the equivalent of the executive bran ...

, they provided a more moderate option than the radicals that led the

Rebellions of 1837 Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...

. Bourret also worked to preserve the French-Canadian identity. In 1843, he and

Ludger Duvernay Ludger Duvernay (January 22, 1799 – November 28, 1852), born in Verchères, Quebec, was a printer by profession and published a number of newspapers including the '' Gazette des Trois-Rivières,'' the first newspaper in Lower Canada outs ...

restored the mutual aid organization that became the

Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society The Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society (french: Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste) is an institution in Quebec dedicated to the protection of Quebec francophone interests and to the promotion of Quebec sovereignism. It is known as the oldest patriotic assoc ...

. He later served as the fifth president (1848-1849). He was also a co-founder of one of French Canada's earliest financial institutions, Banque d’Épargne de la Cité et du District de Montréal. The bank was established to serve working-class Quebecers and had the strong support of the Roman Catholic Church. During his time as mayor, Montreal was the capital of the Province of Canada (see Union of Upper and Lower Canada). Therefore, Bourret bestowed the Saint Anne Market Building to the Parliament of the Canadas. Bourret was instrumental in the construction of the

Bonsecours Market Bonsecours Market (french: Marché Bonsecours), at 350 rue Saint-Paul in Old Montreal, is a two-story domed public market. For more than 100 years, it was the main public market in the Montreal area. It also briefly accommodated the Parliament of ...

and the aqueducts into Montreal. He became an advocate for a safe water system after a cholera outbreak during his second term as mayor.

Personal life

Bourret was born in

Rivière-du-Loup Rivière-du-Loup (; 2021 population 20,118) is a small city on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River in Quebec. The city is the seat for the Rivière-du-Loup Regional County Municipality and the judicial district of Kamouraska. Its one of ...

, Quebec on 10 June 1802 to farmer Joseph Bourret and Angélique Lemaître-Bellenoix. He married Emélie Pelletier, daughter of Toussaint Pelletier and Elisabeth Lacoste in 1834. Then in 1839, he married Marie-Stéphanie Bédard, daughter of the lawyer Joseph Bédard and of Marie-Geneviève-Scholastique Hubert-Lacroix. The couple had nine children. Bourret died while working on 5 March 1859 at the age of 56. The funeral services were held in the Notre-Dame Basilica. In his memory, Montreal has named Avenue Bourret near

Jewish General Hospital The Jewish General Hospital (JGH; french: Hôpital général juif), known officially as the Sir Mortimer B. Davis Jewish General Hospital (french: Hôpital général juif Sir Mortimer B. Davis) since 1978, is an acute-care teaching hospital in M ...

, cote St. Catherine. H3S 1X2.

References

Biography at City of Montreal archives

* Desrochers, Luc. "Bourret est devenu maire grâce à l'influence de La Fontaine." ''La Presse''. 19 Jan 1992, p. A6. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bourret, Joseph 1802 births 1859 deaths Canadian bankers Mayors of Montreal People from Rivière-du-Loup Lawyers in Quebec