Joseph Tassé (23 October 1848 – 17 January 1895) was a Canadian writer, translator, and parliamentarian. Born in

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada (french: province du Bas-Canada) was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence (1791–1841). It covered the southern portion of the current Province of Quebec an ...

(now part of modern Laval

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 ...

), Tassé as a young man studied the Classics at the Collège Bourget. Upon graduation he articled in law offices in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

, Plattsburgh, New York, and Ottawa. However, he never practised law, and instead pursued a career in journalism. From the 1860s, he was employed by newspapers such as Ottawa's '' Le Canada'', and Montreal's ''

La Minerve ''La Minerve'' (French for "The Minerva") was a newspaper founded in Montreal, Lower Canada (present-day Quebec) by Augustin-Norbert Morin to promote the political goals of Louis-Joseph Papineau's Parti patriote. It was notably directed by Ludge ...

'' in 1868. Though he would eventually rise to become its editor, he was initially employed by ''La Minerve'' as a translator, a role he would revisit in 1872, when he became the official translator for the House of Commons of Canada. During this period, Tassé also became interested in the history of the Canadian West, and began to publish a series of articles on French-Canadian explorers of the west. This culminated in the 1878 publication of his two-volume work ''Les Canadiens de l'Ouest''. After six years as translator for the house, he resolved to himself enter politics. A

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

, Tassé served was twice elected to serve as a member of parliament in the House of Commons of Canada, representing the

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

electoral district of

City of Ottawa The City of Ottawa is the corporate entity of municipal government in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The corporation is responsible for provision of services to the public as well as enforcement of municipal by-laws. It is overseen by the City Manag ...

. He was first elected in the Canadian federal election of 1878, and successfully defended this seat in

1882 Events January–March * January 2 ** The Standard Oil Trust is secretly created in the United States to control multiple corporations set up by John D. Rockefeller and his associates. ** Irish-born author Oscar Wilde arrives in t ...

. However, in 1887 he stood for the

riding of Laprairie and was defeated by only 23 votes, ending his career in the House. The loss undoubtedly arose from his support of the Conservative government's handling of the

Red River Rebellion The Red River Rebellion (french: Rébellion de la rivière Rouge), also known as the Red River Resistance, Red River uprising, or First Riel Rebellion, was the sequence of events that led up to the 1869 establishment of a provisional government by ...

and the subsequent hanging of

Louis Riel Louis Riel (; ; 22 October 1844 – 16 November 1885) was a Canadian politician, a founder of the province of Manitoba, and a political leader of the Métis people. He led two resistance movements against the Government of Canada and its first ...

. On 9 February 1891 he was appointed to the Senate of Canada on the recommendation of Sir

John A. Macdonald Sir John Alexander Macdonald (January 10 or 11, 1815 – June 6, 1891) was the first prime minister of Canada, serving from 1867 to 1873 and from 1878 to 1891. The dominant figure of Canadian Confederation, he had a political career that sp ...

, and he served in the capacity representing the senatorial division of De Salaberry, Quebec until his death.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tasse, Joseph 1848 births 1895 deaths Canadian male journalists Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) MPs Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) senators Canadian senators from Quebec Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada Journalists from Quebec Politicians from Laval, Quebec Writers from Quebec 19th-century Canadian journalists 19th-century Canadian male writers