Philippe Hamel (October 12, 1884 – January 22, 1954) was a

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...

and progressive politician in

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 ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Background

He was born on October 12, 1884, in

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the metropolitan area had a population of 839,311. It is t ...

. His father was Charles-Antoine-Auguste and his mother was Sophie Vallieres. His father was a

doctor of medicine Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. T ...

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 Montm ...

and his mothers occupation is unknown

Member of the legislature

Hamel entered politics with the intention to achieve the nationalization of all privately owned electric companies. He first won a seat to the Legislative Assembly of Quebec as an

Action libérale nationale The Action libérale nationale (ALN)('National Liberal Action') was a short-lived provincial political party in Quebec, Canada. It was founded during the Great Depression and led by Paul Gouin. The ALN played an important role in the foundatio ...

candidate in the 1935 election in the district of Québec-Centre. When his party merged with the

Conservative Party of Quebec The Conservative Party of Quebec (CPQ; french: Parti conservateur du Québec (PCQ)) is a provincial political party in Quebec, Canada. It was authorized on 25 March 2009 by the Chief Electoral Officer of Quebec. The CPQ has gradually run more c ...

to form the Union Nationale, Hamel became one of

Maurice Duplessis Maurice Le Noblet Duplessis (; April 20, 1890 – September 7, 1959), was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 16th premier of Quebec. A conservative, nationalist, anti-Communist, anti-unionist and fervent Catholic, he and hi ...

's most important campaign leaders. He was returned to office in the 1936 election and the Union Nationale won the election.

Excluded from the Cabinet

After he secured his job as Premier, Duplessis kept many of the more progressive and independent-minded members of his party on the

backbench In Westminster and other parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a member of parliament (MP) or a legislator who occupies no governmental office and is not a frontbench spokesperson in the Opposition, being instead simply a member of the " ...

. Therefore, Hamel was offered no portfolio. By 1937, he and colleagues

René Chaloult René Chaloult (January 26, 1901 – December 20, 1978) was a nationalist politician in Quebec, Canada. Background He was born on January 26, 1901, in Quebec City. Political career Chaloult first won a seat to the Legislative Assembly of ...

Oscar Drouin Oscar Drouin (September 29, 1890 – July 16, 1953) was a politician in Quebec, Canada. Background He was born on September 29, 1890 in Quebec City. Member of the legislature Drouin won a by-election in 1928 and became the Liberal Member ...

Joseph-Ernest Grégoire Joseph-Ernest Grégoire (July 31, 1886 – September 17, 1980) was a French Canadian politician. Background He was born in Disraeli, Quebec on July 31, 1886. He was an attorney and a professor. Member of the Barreau du Quebec in 1913, ...

and

Adolphe Marcoux Adolphe Marcoux (October 29, 1884 – September 10, 1951) was a physician and a nationalist politician in Quebec, Canada. Born in Beauport, Quebec, Marcoux won a seat to the Legislative Assembly of Quebec as a Union Nationale candidate in ...

had left the Union Nationale.Chronologie parlementaire depuis 1791 (1937-1939)
/ref> Hamel did not run for re-election in the 1939 election.

Death

He died on January 22, 1954, at the age of 69 years old.

Legacy

Hamel's main objective did not take place while he was in office. However, the government of

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 ...

bought the ''Montreal Light Heat & Power Co.'', which became Hydro-Québec, in 1944. Furthermore, nearly all privately owned electric corporations were nationalized and merged to Hydro-Québec in 1962–63, under the premiership of

Jean Lesage Jean Lesage (; 10 June 1912 – 12 December 1980) was a Canadian lawyer and politician from Quebec. He served as the 19th premier of Quebec from 22 June 1960 to 16 June 1966. Alongside Georges-Émile Lapalme, René Lévesque and others, he is ...

References

1884 births 1954 deaths Action libérale nationale MNAs Union Nationale (Quebec) MNAs {{Union-Nationale-Quebec-MNA-stub