Joseph Dufresne (February 2, 1805 – November 5, 1873) 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 ...

notary A notary is a person authorised to perform acts in legal affairs, in particular witnessing signatures on documents. The form that the notarial profession takes varies with local legal systems. A notary, while a legal professional, is disti ...

and political figure. He was 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 ...

member of the House of Commons of Canada representing Montcalm from 1867 to 1871. He was born in Saint-Paul-de-Lavaltrie,

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 ...

in 1805. He qualified as a notary in 1834 and set up practice in Saint-Jacques-de-l'Achigan, then Saint-Lin, Saint-Alexis and finally

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 ...

. In 1854, he was elected to the

5th Parliament of the Province of Canada The 5th Parliament of the Province of Canada was in session from 1854 to November 1857. Elections for the Legislative Assembly were held in the Province of Canada in July 1854. Sessions were held in Quebec City until 1856 and then in Toronto. In 1 ...

for Montcalm; he was re-elected in 1858 but defeated by Jean-Louis Martin in 1861. When Martin died before taking his seat, Dufresne was elected to the seat in a by-election in February 1862. He was re-elected in 1863 and, in 1867, was elected to the Parliament of Canada in the same riding. He resigned in 1871, when he was appointed sheriff for Saint-Jean County. He died two years later at Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dufresne, Joseph 1805 births 1873 deaths Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from Canada East Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Quebec