Perreault Casgrain, O.C., c.r., (January 18, 1898 – April 26, 1981) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

lawyer and provincial politician in the

Province of 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 thirteen p ...

. He served one term as the national President of the

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

.Canadian Bar Association: Past CBA Presidents
/ref> Casgrain was born at

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 ...

, the son of Charles Perreault Casgrain, a civil servant, and Germaine Mousseau. He came from a political family: his maternal grandfather,

Joseph-Alfred Mousseau Joseph-Alfred Mousseau (July 17, 1837 – March 30, 1886), was a Canadian lawyer and politician, who served in the federal Cabinet and also as the sixth premier of Quebec. Biography He was born in Sainte-Geneviève-de-Berthier, Lower Canada, ...

was the sixth

Premier of Quebec The premier of Quebec ( French: ''premier ministre du Québec'' (masculine) or ''première ministre du Québec'' (feminine)) is the head of government of the Canadian province of Quebec. The current premier of Quebec is François Legault of the ...

, while his paternal grandfather,

Philippe Baby Casgrain Philippe Baby Casgrain (December 30, 1826 – May 23, 1917) was a Quebec lawyer, author and political figure. He represented L'Islet in the House of Commons of Canada as a Liberal member from 1873 to 1891. He was born in Quebec City in 1 ...

had been a member of the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

. A great-uncle,

Charles Eusèbe Casgrain Charles Eusèbe Casgrain (August 3, 1825 – March 8, 1907) was an Ontario physician and political figure. He was a Conservative Party of Canada (historical), Conservative member of the Senate of Canada for Windsor division from 1887 to 1907. ...

and an uncle,

Joseph Philippe Baby Casgrain Joseph Philippe Baby Casgrain (March 1, 1856 – January 6, 1939) was a Quebec surveyor, civil engineer and political figure. He was a Liberal member of the Senate of Canada for De Lanaudière division from 1900 to 1939. He was born at Quebec ...

had both been members of the

Senate of Canada The Senate of Canada (french: region=CA, Sénat du Canada) is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the House of Commons, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The Senate is modelled after the B ...

. Senator

Thérèse Casgrain Marie Thérèse Casgrain, ., née Forget (10 July 1896 – 3 November 1981) was a French Canadian feminist, reformer, politician and senator. She was a leader in the fight for women's right to vote in the province of Quebec, as well as the first ...

, who campaigned for women's equality and their right to vote, was a distant relative by marriage. Casgrain was educated at a boarding school, Saint-Jean-Berchmans at Québec, at the

Séminaire de Québec The Seminary of Quebec (French: Séminaire de Québec) is a Catholic community of diocesan priests in Quebec City founded by Bishop François de Laval, the first bishop of New France in 1663. History The Séminaire de Québec is a Society of d ...

, at St. Procopius College (now the

Benedictine University Benedictine University is a private Roman Catholic university in Lisle, Illinois. It was founded in 1887 as St. Procopius College by the Benedictine monks of St. Procopius Abbey in the Pilsen community on the West Side of Chicago. The institu ...

) in Chicago, Illinois, at the

Collège de Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pocatière In France, secondary education is in two stages: * ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 15. * ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for children between ...

and at the

Université Laval Université Laval is a public research university in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The university was founded by royal charter issued by Queen Victoria in 1852, with roots in the founding of the Séminaire de Québec in 1663 by François de Montmo ...

. He volunteered for the Canadian Army during World War I, as an officer in th
1st Canadian Tank Battalion
He was called to the Bar of Quebec in 1920 and practised in Rimouski from 1920 to 1974, and in Montreal from 1974 onwards. From 1920 to 1936, he was the Crown prosecutor for the Rimouski district, being named

King'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 or ...

("conseillier du roi") in 1930. He was a member of the

Legislative Assembly of Quebec The Legislative Assembly of Quebec (French: ''Assemblée législative du Québec'') was the name of the lower house of Quebec's legislature from 1867 to December 31, 1968, when it was renamed the National Assembly of Quebec. At the same time, t ...

for

Gaspé-Nord Gaspé-Nord was a former provincial electoral district in the Gaspésie area of Quebec, Canada. It elected members to the National Assembly of Quebec (earlier known as the Legislative Assembly of Quebec). It was created for the 1931 election b ...

from 1939 to 1944. From 1942 to 1944, he served as

Minister without portfolio A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister who does not head a particular ministry. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet w ...

in the Cabinet of Premier

Adélard Godbout Joseph-Adélard Godbout (September 24, 1892 – September 18, 1956) was a Canadian agronomist and politician. He served as the 15th premier of Quebec briefly in 1936, and again from 1939 to 1944. He served as leader of the Parti Libéral du Qu� ...

. He served in Cabinet at the same time as his cousin, Attorney General Léon Casgrain. Casgrain was active in the bar of Quebec and the

throughout his career. In 1967–68, he served as national President of the Canadian Bar Association. In 1973, he was invested into the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

, "in recognition of his contribution to the legal profession as well as to the cultural life of the region of Rimouski." He died in Montreal in 1981 at age 83.

References

External links

National Assembly of Quebec: Biography of Perreault Casgrain

Order of Canada Citation: C. Perreault Casgrain
1898 births 1981 deaths Canadian King's Counsel Canadian Bar Association Presidents Lawyers in Quebec Officers of the Order of Canada Politicians from Quebec City Quebec Liberal Party MNAs Université Laval alumni Beaubien-Casgrain family {{Liberal-Quebec-MNA-stub