Louis-Victor Sicotte, (November 6, 1812 – September 5, 1889) was a lawyer, judge and politician 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 ...

. He was born Louis Cicot in Boucherville, Lower Canada in 1812. He studied law and was called to the bar in 1839. He helped found the Aide-toi, le Ciel t’aidera (

God helps those who help themselves The phrase "God helps those who help themselves" is a motto that emphasizes the importance of self-initiative and agency. The expression is known around the world and is used to inspire people for self-help. The phrase originated in ancient Greec ...

) society, which is credited with introducing the celebration of

Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day (french: Fête de la Saint-Jean-Baptiste, la Saint-Jean, Fête nationale du Québec), also known in English as ''St John the Baptist Day'', is a holiday celebrated on June 24 in the Canadian province of Quebec and by Fren ...

for French Canadians, and was also its secretary-treasurer. He supported the Patriotes but apparently took no part in the Rebellions of 1837–38. He believed, correctly as it turned out, that rebellion would lead only to an imposed union with

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada (french: link=no, province du Haut-Canada) was a part of British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of th ...

. In 1838, he set up a practice in

Saint-Hyacinthe Saint-Hyacinthe (; French: ) is a city in southwestern Quebec east of Montreal on the Yamaska River. The population as of the 2021 Canadian census was 57,239. The city is located in Les Maskoutains Regional County Municipality of the Montérég ...

. In 1851, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly representing

. He became part of the

Hincks Hinck and Hincks are surnames, and may refer to: Hinck * Jon Hinck (born 1954), American environmentalist Hincks * Carroll C. Hincks (1889–1964), federal judge in the United States * Sir Cecil Hincks (1894–1963), Australian politician * Edw ...

Morin Morin is a surname of diffent Romance origins. In northern Italy it derives from the Ladin term for «mill» (''molina'' in Latin). In French it derives from the ancient Celtic tribe of Morini who once inhabited the coast of modern day Belgium. The ...

government for a short time in August 1853. He was re-elected in 1854 and elected speaker. In the same year, he was named

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister o ...

. In November 1857, he was chosen as Commissioner of Crown Lands, serving until 1 August 1858.Report of the Bureau of Archives for the Province of Ontario vol. 1, p. 47 He was re-elected in 1858 and became Commissioner of Public Works in the Cartier- Macdonald government from 1858 to 10 January 1859. He was

Joint Premier of the Province of Canada Joint premiers of the Province of Canada were the prime ministers of the Province of Canada, from the 1841 unification of Upper Canada and Lower Canada until Confederation in 1867. Following the abortive Rebellions of 1837, Lord Durham was appoin ...

with John Sandfield Macdonald from May 24, 1862 to May 15, 1863. He refused a cabinet post in the Macdonald- Dorion government that followed and, after his reelection in 1863, introduced a

motion of non-confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...

, which was rejected by a small margin. In September 1863, he accepted an appointment as judge of the Superior Court in the Saint-Hyacinthe district, serving until 1887. He died in Saint-Hyacinthe in 1889. Sicotte Township, located in the

Outaouais Outaouais (, ; also commonly called The Outaouais) is a region of western Quebec, Canada. It includes the city of Gatineau, the municipality of Val-des-Monts and the Papineau region. Geographically, it is located on the north side of the Ottaw ...

region of Quebec, was named in his honour (but renamed to Grand-Remous in 1973).

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sicotte, Louis-Victor 1812 births 1889 deaths Premiers of the Province of Canada Judges in Quebec People from Boucherville Canadian King's Counsel Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from Canada East