Joseph Gaspard Boucher (February 3, 1897 – April 18, 1955) was a journalist and political figure in

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

, Canada. He represented Madawaska County in the

Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick A legislature is an deliberative assembly, assembly with the authority to make laws for a Polity, political entity such as a Sovereign state, country or city. They are often contrasted with the Executive (government), executive and Judiciary, ...

from 1935 to 1952 and

Restigouche—Madawaska Restigouche—Madawaska was a federal electoral district in New Brunswick, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1917 to 1968. This riding was created in 1914 from parts of Restigouche and Victoria ridings. With t ...

in the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Common ...

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 ...

member from 1953 to 1955. Known as Gaspard, he was born in

Notre-Dame-du-Portage, Quebec Notre-Dame-du-Portage () is a municipality in the Canadian province of Quebec located at the edge of the Saint Lawrence River in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region. It is part of the Rivière-du-Loup Regional County Municipality and home to the Rivier ...

and studied at the agricultural college at

Sainte-Anne-de-La-Pocatière Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pocatière is a parish municipality in the Canadian province of Quebec, located in the Kamouraska Regional County Municipality. Demographics In the 2021 Census of Population The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumer ...

and McDonald College (now the

Macdonald Campus The Macdonald Campus of McGill University (commonly referred to as the ‘Mac Campus’ or simply ’Mac’) houses McGill's Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (FAES), which includes the Institute of Parasitology, the School of Huma ...

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

) at

Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue () is an on-island suburb located at the western tip of the Island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It is the second oldest community in Montreal's West Island, having been founded as a parish in 1703. The old ...

. He worked as an

agronomist An agriculturist, agriculturalist, agrologist, or agronomist (abbreviated as agr.), is a professional in the science, practice, and management of agriculture and agribusiness. It is a regulated profession in Canada, India, the Philippines, the ...

for some time before moving to

Edmundston Edmundston is a city in Madawaska County, New Brunswick, Canada. On 1 January 2023, Edmundston will expanded, annexing the village of Rivière-Verte and parts of the local service districts of the parish of Saint-Jacques and the parish of Sai ...

in 1920 where he became manager of the Royal Hotel acquired by his father. Gaspard Boucher married Annette Lamarche in 1921. The couple had nine children. Gaspard Boucher was involved with the Société nationale des Acadiens and was one of the founders of the New Brunswick chapter of the Ordre de Jacques Cartier, an organization dedicated to defending the rights of

Francophone French became an international language in the Middle Ages, when the power of the Kingdom of France made it the second international language, alongside Latin. This status continued to grow into the 18th century, by which time French was the l ...

s. Gaspard aided in the establishment of

credit union A credit union, a type of financial institution similar to a commercial bank, is a member-owned nonprofit organization, nonprofit financial cooperative. Credit unions generally provide services to members similar to retail banks, including depo ...

s in the Madawaska region and the

Knights of Columbus The Knights of Columbus (K of C) is a global Catholic fraternal service order founded by Michael J. McGivney on March 29, 1882. Membership is limited to practicing Catholic men. It is led by Patrick E. Kelly, the order's 14th Supreme Knight. ...

branch in the city of Edmundston. In 1923, Boucher became owner-editor of ''Le Madawaska''

newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports a ...

. Boucher served in the province's Executive Council as a minister without portfolio from 1941 to 1949 and as Provincial Secretary-Treasurer from August 10, 1949 to October 8, 1952. Gaspard Boucher died of 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 ...

at the age of 58.

References

*
Fonds J-Gaspard Boucher, University of Moncton Archives
(French)

SAVOIE, Alexandre J. «Biographie de J. Gaspard Boucher», Revue de la Société historique du Madawaska, Vol. XII, Nos. 1-2, Janvier-juin 1984, 72 pages. {{DEFAULTSORT:Boucher, Joseph Gaspard 1897 births 1955 deaths French Quebecers 20th-century Canadian legislators 20th-century Canadian newspaper publishers (people) Canadian newspaper publishers (people) Canadian agronomists Members of the Executive Council of New Brunswick Members of the House of Commons of Canada from New Brunswick Liberal Party of Canada MPs People from Edmundston People from Bas-Saint-Laurent Canadian Roman Catholics New Brunswick Liberal Association MLAs Finance ministers of New Brunswick 20th-century agronomists