Joseph Miville Dechene (October 22, 1879 – December 1, 1962) was a Canadian farmer and politician who served at all three levels of government. He served as a councillor of the town of

Bonnyville Bonnyville is a town situated in east-central Alberta, Canada between Cold Lake and St. Paul. The surrounding Municipal District (MD) of Bonnyville No. 87's municipal office is located in Bonnyville. The community derives its name from Fat ...

from 1928 to 1934, as a Liberal MLA in the

Legislative Assembly of Alberta The Legislative Assembly of Alberta is the deliberative assembly of the province of Alberta, Canada. It sits in the Alberta Legislature Building in Edmonton. The Legislative Assembly currently has 87 members, elected first past the post from sin ...

from 1921 to 1926 and again from 1930 to 1935, and as a Liberal MP in the House of Commons of Canada from 1940 to 1958.

Early life

Dechene was born on October 22, 1879, in Chambord,

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 ...

Provincial politics

Dechene ran for a seat to the Alberta Legislature in the 1921 Alberta general election. He won the Beaver River electoral district by a comfortable margin to hold it for the Liberals. In the 1926 general election he was defeated by United Farmers candidate John Delisle. Dechene made a comeback in the 1930 general election. He ran in the electoral district of

St. Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

and defeated incumbent

Laudas Joly Laudas Joly (August 6, 1887 – April 30, 1960) was a politician from Alberta, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1921 to 1930 as a member of the United Farmers of Alberta and from 1952 to 1955 as a member of the S ...

by just 18 votes. Dechene faced Joly again in the 1935 general election. Both were defeated by

Social Credit Social credit is a distributive philosophy of political economy developed by C. H. Douglas. Douglas attributed economic downturns to discrepancies between the cost of goods and the compensation of the workers who made them. To combat what he ...

candidate Joseph Beaudry. Beaudry, although leading in the first count of votes, did not have majority (as required for election under Alternative Voting) so Joly was eliminated and his votes transferred based on back-up preferences marked on the ballots. Beaudry then won on the Second Count.; A Report on Alberta Elections (1982)

Local government involvement

He served as a member of council in the small town of

Bonnyville, Alberta Bonnyville is a town situated in east-central Alberta, Canada between Cold Lake and St. Paul. The surrounding Municipal District (MD) of Bonnyville No. 87's municipal office is located in Bonnyville. The community derives its name from Fat ...

from 1928 to 1934.

Federal politics

He served as a Liberal Member of Parliament from 1940 to 1958. Dechene ran for the House of Commons of Canada in the 1940 federal election 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 ...

candidate in the electoral district of Athabaska. He faced two incumbents: William Hayhurst, who had moved from

Vegreville Vegreville ( uk, Веґревіль) is a town in central Alberta, Canada. It is on Highway 16A approximately east of Edmonton, Alberta's capital city. It was incorporated as a town in 1906, and that year also saw the founding of the ''Vegre ...

after failing to retain the Social Credit nomination there, and Percy John Rowe, who had defected from Social Credit and joined the

Cooperative Commonwealth Federation The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF; french: Fédération du Commonwealth Coopératif, FCC); from 1955 the Social Democratic Party of Canada (''french: Parti social démocratique du Canada''), was a federal democratic socialistThe follo ...

. Dechene won the election by 1,100 votes over Hayhurst while Rowe finished a distant third place. In the 1945 federal election Dechene hung onto his seat with 35% of the popular vote in a five-way race. In the 1949 federal election Dechene faced four other candidates, including former Member of Parliament Orvis Kennedy. He won with 45% of the popular vote. In the 1953 federal election Dechene won a four-way race with almost 50% of the popular vote, the largest of his career in federal politics. In the 1957 federal election. Dechene attained a narrow victory over Social Credit candidate Archie McPhail. He retired from Parliament at dissolution a year later.

References

External links

Legislative Assembly of Alberta Members Listing
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dechene, Joseph 1879 births 1962 deaths People from Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean Alberta Liberal Party MLAs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Alberta Liberal Party of Canada MPs French Quebecers Franco-Albertan people