Pierre Bachand (22 March 1835 – 3 November 1878) was a lawyer and politician born 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 ...

who studied law with

Louis-Victor Sicotte Louis-Victor Sicotte, (November 6, 1812 – September 5, 1889) was a lawyer, judge and politician in Lower Canada. He was born Louis Cicot in Boucherville, Lower Canada in 1812. He studied law and was called to the bar in 1839. He helped foun ...

in Saint-Hyacinthe. He was, at various times, deputy

protonotary The word prothonotary is recorded in English since 1447, as "principal clerk of a court," from L.L. ''prothonotarius'' ( c. 400), from Greek ''protonotarios'' "first scribe," originally the chief of the college of recorders of the court of the B ...

of the Superior Court and assistant clerk of the Circuit Court in his area. In 1862, he went into partnership and built up a large practice throughout the area. It was a time of rapid economic growth and, through his influence, they founded a

Chamber of Commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to ad ...

in the Saint-Hyacinthe district. More important to the area was the start of the Banque de Saint-Hyacinthe which Bachand helped found. He was the president until his death. He was active in politics and ran successfully for the Liberals in the Legislative Assembly of the province of Quebec in 1867 and was unopposed in 1871 and 1875. Although he was an MLA, he was active in important matters on the federal scene. He worked with Honoré Mercier during the time of the “

Pacific Scandal The Pacific Scandal was a political scandal in Canada involving bribes being accepted by 150 members of the Conservative government in the attempts of private interests to influence the bidding for a national rail contract. As part of British Colum ...

” and helped organize the Parti National in 1871.

References

*
Biography at ''the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bachand, Pierre 1835 births 1878 deaths Lawyers in Lower Canada/Canada East Lawyers in Quebec Quebec Liberal Party MNAs People from Verchères, Quebec 19th-century Canadian lawyers