Prosper-Edmond Lessard (February 3, 1873 – April 11, 1931) was a Canadian businessman, militia officer and politician. He served as a member of the

Legislative Assembly of Alberta The Legislative Assembly of Alberta is the deliberative assembly of the province of Alberta, Canada. It sits in the Alberta Legislature Building in Edmonton. The Legislative Assembly currently has 87 members, elected first past the post from singl ...

from 1909 to 1921 sitting with the Liberal caucus in government. He also served in 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 ...

from 1925 to his death in 1931 sitting with the federal Liberal caucus.

Early life

Lessard was born on February 3, 1873 in Cranbourne,

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 ...

to Jean-Prosper Lessard and Annie Campbell Davidson. Lessard studied commerce and sciences at Collège du Mont-Saint-Louis in the mid-1890s and worked as a bookkeeper in Montreal following the completion of his studies. He left home seeking his fortune in the 1898 Klondike Gold Rush, stopping in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

on his way there and went on to become a leading citizen in the

Franco-Albertan Franco-Albertans (french: Franco-Albertains) are francophone residents of the Canadian province of Alberta. Franco-Albertans may also refer to residents of Alberta with French Canadian ancestry, although publications from the government of Albert ...

community. Lessard began working as a bookkeeper for fellow Quebecers Joseph Chénier and Joseph-Hormidas Gariépy, and would later purchase Chénier's shares to partner with Gariépy to form a firm under the name ''Gariépy and Lessard'' between 1901 and April 1909. Lessard would serve on Edmonton's Board of Trade, formed a number of companies including Imperial Agencies, and served as an executive on a number of resource extraction companies including Elk Park Oil Company, Western Timber and Mines Company, and Edmonton Iron Works. In the civics world Lessard would serve as secretary-treasurer of Edmonton's Young Men's Liberal Club, Edmonton's Liberal Association, and launched ''Le Courrier de l'Ouest'' a french language paper with

Philippe Roy Philippe Roy, (February 13, 1868 – December 10, 1948) was a Canadian physician, politician, and diplomat. In 1906, he was appointed to the Senate of Canada representing the senatorial government division of Edmonton, Alberta. During this ...

which reached a circulation of 8,000. He would also serve as a trustee of the Edmonton Separate-School Board between 1907 and 1910.

Political career

Lessard ran for a seat to the Alberta Legislature in the

1909 Alberta general election The 1909 Alberta general election was the second general election held in the Province of Alberta, Canada on March 22, 1909, to elect 41 members of the Alberta legislature to the 2nd Alberta Legislature. The incumbent Liberal Party led by Premi ...

as a Liberal candidate. He won the new Pakan electoral district by

acclamation An acclamation is a form of election that does not use a ballot. It derives from the ancient Roman word ''acclamatio'', a kind of ritual greeting and expression of approval towards imperial officials in certain social contexts. Voting Voice vot ...

. He would be sworn into

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

Alexander Cameron Rutherford Alexander Cameron Rutherford (February 2, 1857 – June 11, 1941) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the first premier of Alberta from 1905 to 1910. Born in Ormond, Canada West, he studied and practiced law in Ottawa before h ...

's cabinet as a Minister without portfolio, which he would hold until Rutherford's resignation in May 1910 due to the

Alberta and Great Waterways Railway Scandal The Alberta and Great Waterways Railway Scandal was a political scandal in Alberta, Canada in 1910, which forced the resignation of Liberal premier Alexander Cameron Rutherford. Rutherford and his government were accused of giving loan guarant ...

. The 1913 boundary redistribution saw the Pakan district abolished. Lessard ran for re-election in the new

St. Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

electoral district in the election held that year. He won a closely contested two-way race over Conservative candidate Laurent Garneau, former pioneer in the Garneau district of Edmonton. Lessard ran for a third term in the 1917 general election. He received 66 percent of the vote to keep his seat, defeating Conservative opponent James Brady, a Metis activist and the subject of the biography One-and-a-half Men.; Lessard ran for re-election again in the

1921 Alberta general election The 1921 Alberta general election was held on July 18, 1921, to elect members to the 5th Alberta Legislative Assembly. It was one of only five times that Alberta has changed governments. The Liberal Party, which had governed the province since it ...

. He was defeated by United Farmers candidate

Laudas Joly Laudas Joly (August 6, 1887 – April 30, 1960) was a politician from Alberta, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1921 to 1930 as a member of the United Farmers of Alberta and from 1952 to 1955 as a member of the S ...

in a closely contested two-way race. Many other Liberal members also lost their seas in this election, as the United Farmers formed a majority government. In 1925 Lessard was appointed to the

on the advice of Prime Minister

Mackenzie King William Lyon Mackenzie King (December 17, 1874 – July 22, 1950) was a Canadian statesman and politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Canada for three non-consecutive terms from 1921 to 1926, 1926 to 1930, and 1935 to 1948. A Li ...

. Lessard served in the Senate until his death in his St. Paul home on April 11, 1931 at the age of 58.

Lessard mansion

Lessard's 1913 unique downtown

area home on 100th Avenue and 119th Street was declared a Municipal Historical Resource by the City of Edmonton, however the home was demolished in 2005 to make way for a six-storey condo complex.

Personal life

Lessard married Hélène Gariépy, the daughter of Edmonton Alderman and Merchant Joseph Hormidas Gariépy on November 25, 1900 in Edmonton, together they had three daughters and two sons. Lessard would collaborate with J. H. Picard, Léonidas-Alcidas Giroux, and R.‑A. Blais to create the ''Société de la Colonisation de l’Alberta'' in September 1912, to support the growth of Alberta's french population by advertising the province's agricultural potential.

References

External links

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Legislative Assembly of Alberta Members Listing
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lessard, Prosper-Edmond Alberta Liberal Party MLAs Canadian senators from Alberta Liberal Party of Canada senators Politicians from Edmonton People from Beauce, Quebec 1873 births 1931 deaths French Quebecers Franco-Albertan people Members of the Executive Council of Alberta