Louis-Philippe de Grandpré (February 6, 1917 – January 24, 2008) was a Canadian lawyer and

puisne justice Puisne judge and puisne justice () are terms for an ordinary judge or a judge of lesser rank of a particular court. The term comes from a combination of the two French words, (since, later) and (born) which have been combined as or ; meaning ...

of the

Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; , ) is the highest court in the judicial system of Canada. It comprises nine justices, whose decisions are the ultimate application of Canadian law, and grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants eac ...

Family and early life

Louis-Philippe de Grandpré was born in

Montreal, Quebec Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, to Roland de Grandpré and Aline Magnan. He was one of three brothers, all of whom became gifted, popular lawyers. His brother Jean de Grandpré became Chairman of Bell Canada, and his brother Pierre practised for more than 45 years. De Grandpré received a classical education at

Collège Sainte-Marie de Montréal Collège Sainte-Marie () was a college in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It ceased to exist in 1969, when it was merged into UQAM (Université du Québec à Montréal). History Collège Ste-Marie was founded by Jesuits in 1848. It had an English se ...

, graduating in 1935. He then studied law at

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

and received a

Bachelor of Civil Law Bachelor of Civil Law (abbreviated BCL or B.C.L.; ) is the name of various degrees in law conferred by English-language universities. The BCL originated as a postgraduate degree in the universities of Oxford and Cambridge; at Oxford, the BCL contin ...

in 1938. De Grandpré was diagnosed with

syringomyelia Syringomyelia is a generic term referring to a disorder in which a cyst or cavity forms within the spinal cord. Often, syringomyelia is used as a generic term before an etiology is determined. This cyst, called a syrinx, can expand and elongate ...

when he was 29, and from then on he was virtually paralyzed on the right side of his body.

Early legal career

He practised law in Montreal from 1938 and, about eight years after his call to the bar, he co-founded the firm of Tansey, de Grandpré et de Grandpré. From 1972 to 1973, he was president of the

Canadian Bar Association The Canadian Bar Association (CBA), or Association du barreau canadien (ABC) in French, represents over 37,000 lawyers, judges, notaries, law teachers, and law students from across Canada. History The Association's first Annual Meeting was ...

, where he took a position opposing state-controlled

legal aid Legal aid is the provision of assistance to people who are unable to afford legal representation and access to the court system. Legal aid is regarded as central in providing access to justice by ensuring equality before the law, the right ...

plans.

Supreme Court

De Grandpré was appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada on January 1, 1974. He was the subject of controversy that year when objections were raised to him hearing the case Morgentaler v. The Queen given his prior personal statements about the issue at a 1973 national meeting of the Canadian Bar Association. In the end, the Chief Justice decided that de Grandpré could remain on the panel to hear the abortion case. By October 1, 1977, de Grandpré resigned complaining of Chief Justice

Bora Laskin Bora Laskin (October 5, 1912 – March 26, 1984) was a Canadians, Canadian jurist who served as the 14th Chief Justice of Canada, chief justice of Canada from 1973 to 1984 and as a List of justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, puisne just ...

's style of running the Court and the direction it was taking on many constitutional matters. In an interview near the end of his life, he said he found the work on the Court dead boring.

Subsequent legal career

After leaving the bench, de Grandpré returned to the practice of law at the firm of Lafleur, Brown, de Grandpré (which later became Gowling Lafleur Henderson), and was seen as a mentor by many lawyers. In 1985, de Grandpré authored a report on judicial independence for the Canadian Bar Association.

Honours and distinctions

* 1971: Companion of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

* 1998: Grand Officer of the

National Order of Quebec The National Order of Quebec ( French: ), also known as the Order of Quebec, is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Quebec. Instituted in 1984 when Lieutenant Governor Jean-Pierre Côté granted royal assent to the (Natio ...

* 2007: Emeritus Lawyer of the

Bar of Quebec The Bar of Quebec () is the regulatory body for the practice of advocates in the Canadian province of Quebec and one of two legal regulatory bodies in the province. It was founded on May 30, 1849, as the Bar of Lower Canada (). History The begi ...

Death

He died on January 24, 2008, in Saint-Lambert, leaving behind his wife, four children, eleven grandchildren and five great-grandchildren and a brother. The funeral service was held at Saint-Viateur d'Outremont and he was entombed at the

Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery (, ) is a rural cemetery located in the borough of Côte-des-Neiges-Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, which was founded in 1854. The entrance and the grounds run along a part of Côte-des-Neiges Ro ...

in Montreal. His wife died in 2012.

References

External links

Supreme Court of Canada Biography: Louis-Philippe de Grandpré

Obituary

Globe and Mail obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grandpre, Louis-Philippe De 1917 births 2008 deaths Companions of the Order of Canada Grand Officers of the National Order of Quebec Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada Canadian Bar Association Presidents Lawyers from Montreal Canadian King's Counsel McGill University Faculty of Law alumni Burials at Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery