Léon Trépanier

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, (June 29, 1881 – September 19, 1967) 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 ...

journalist, historian and politician. He was president of the

Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society The Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society (french: Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste) is an institution in Quebec dedicated to the protection of Quebec francophone interests and to the promotion of Quebec sovereignism. It is known as the oldest patriotic assoc ...

of Montreal from 1925 to 1929. The son of François Trépanier and d'Élise Huard, he was born in

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...

and was educated at the

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (french: Université d'Ottawa), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ottawa ...

. He began his career as a journalist in Montreal at '' La Presse'' in 1901 and later worked at '' La Patrie'' and ''

Le Devoir ''Le Devoir'' (, "Duty") is a French-language newspaper published in Montreal and distributed in Quebec and throughout Canada. It was founded by journalist and politician Henri Bourassa in 1910. ''Le Devoir'' is one of few independent large-c ...

''. Trépanier represented Lafontaine on Montreal city council from 1921 to 1938. As president of the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society, he proposed the installation of the illuminated cross on

Mount Royal Mount Royal (french: link=no, Mont Royal, ) is a large intrusive rock hill or small mountain in the city of Montreal, immediately west of Downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The best-known hypothesis for the origin of the name Montreal is the hi ...

and initiated the annual parades held on

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 Que ...

in Montreal. He served as leader of the

Montreal City Council The Montreal City Council (french: Conseil municipal de Montréal) is the governing body in the mayor–council government in the city of Montreal, Quebec. The head of the city government in Montreal is the mayor, who is first among equals in the ...

from 1928 to 1930 and from 1932 to 1934. He led the preparations for the celebrations of the 300th anniversary of the founding of Montreal. While serving as alderman, he proposed the installation of the illuminated fountain in Montreal's

La Fontaine Park La Fontaine Park (french: Parc La Fontaine) is a urban park located in the borough of Le Plateau-Mont-Royal in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Named in honour of Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine, The park's features include two linked ponds with a fountai ...

. In 1906, he married Anne-Marie Gagnon. Later in life, he pursued a second career as a historian. He was a member of the Société des Dix and published biographies of several Montreal mayors. Trépanier was a member of the Cercle universitaire de Montréal and the Commission des monuments et des sites historiques du Québec. He died in 1967 at the age of 86.

Selected bibliography

* ''Figures de maires : Sévère-Dominique Rivard'' (1956) * ''Figures de Maires : Édouard-Raymond Fabre'' (1959) * ''Nos hôtels de ville'' (1960) * ''On veut savoir'' - 4 volumes 1960-1962 * ''L'affaire Walker à Montréal en 1764'' (1962) * ''Guillaume Lamothe (1824-1911)'' (1964) * ''Les attributs de la mairie de Montréal'' (1966) * ''Les rues du vieux Montréal au fil du temps'' (1968)

Honours

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(1943) * Gold medal of the

Société historique de Montréal Lactalis is a French multinational dairy products corporation, owned by the Besnier family and based in Laval, Mayenne, France. The company's former name was Besnier SA. Lactalis is the largest dairy products group in the world, and is the sec ...

(1963) * Avenue Léon-Trépanier in Montreal, Rue Léon-Trépanier in Trois-Rivières and Rue Léon-Trépanier in Sherbrooke were named in his honour

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Trepanier, Leon 1881 births 1967 deaths Journalists from Quebec Canadian Members of the Order of the British Empire Presidents of the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society of Montreal Montreal city councillors Historians from Quebec