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 from 1928 to 1934, as a Liberal MLA in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1921 to 1926 and again from 1930 to 1935, and as a Liberal MP 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 ...

from 1940 to 1958.

Early life

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

Provincial politics

Dechene ran for a seat to the Alberta Legislature in the

1921 Alberta general election The 1921 Alberta general election was held on July 18, 1921, to elect members to the 5th Alberta Legislative Assembly. It was one of only five times that Alberta has changed governments. The Liberal Party, which had governed the province since it ...

. 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 United Farmers may refer to: *The United Farmers' MPs in the Canadian House of Commons who founded the Progressive Party of Canada in 1920 *United Farmers of Alberta, a political party which governed Alberta from 1921 to 1935 and also elected membe ...

candidate

John Delisle John Amos Delisle (November 24, 1871 – December 27, 1940) is a former provincial politician from Alberta, Canada. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1926 to 1930 sitting with the United Farmers caucus in governmen ...

. Dechene made a comeback in the 1930 general election. He ran in the electoral district of St. Paul and defeated incumbent Laudas Joly by just 18 votes. Dechene faced Joly again in the 1935 general election. Both were defeated by Social Credit candidate

Joseph Beaudry Joseph William Beaudry (March 27, 1885 – March 22, 1954) was a provincial politician from Alberta, Canada. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta The Legislative Assembly of Alberta is the deliberative assembly of the ...

. 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 from 1928 to 1934.

Federal politics

He served as a Liberal Member of Parliament from 1940 to 1958. Dechene ran for the

in the 1940 federal election as a Liberal candidate in the electoral district of Athabaska. He faced two incumbents: William Hayhurst, who had moved from Vegreville after failing to retain the Social Credit nomination there, and

Percy John Rowe Percival John Rowe (November 18, 1893 – January 26, 1978) was an accountant and a Canadian federal politician. He was born in Bowmanville, Ontario. Rowe ran for the House of Commons of Canada as a candidate from the Social Credit Party of ...

, who had defected from Social Credit and joined the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation. 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 Orvis A. Kennedy (August 5, 1907 – April 2, 1997) was an executive, manager, organizer, salesman and a Canadian federal politician. He was Member of Parliament for Edmonton East from 1938 to 1940. Kennedy helped found the Social Credit party ...

. 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