Sir Hector-Louis Langevin, (August 25, 1826 – June 11, 1906) was a Canadian

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

, politician, and one of the Fathers of Confederation.

Early life and education

Langevin was born in Quebec City in 1826. He studied law and was called to the bar in 1850.

Political career

In 1856, he was elected to the municipal council of Quebec City and was mayor from 1858 to 1861. In 1857, he was elected Member of Parliament for Dorchester in the

Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada The Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada was the lower house of the legislature for the Province of Canada, which consisted of the former provinces of Lower Canada, then known as Canada East and later the province of Quebec, and Upper C ...

as a member of the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

. He held various positions in

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

, including Solicitor General (1864–66), Postmaster General (1866–67), Secretary of State for Canada (1867–69), Superintendent-General of Indian Affairs (1868–69), Minister of Public Works (1869–73) and acting Minister of Militia and Defence (1873). Langevin also attended all three conferences leading to Confederation. He left politics in 1873 due to his role in the Pacific Scandal. In

1871 Events January–March * January 3 – Franco-Prussian War – Battle of Bapaume: Prussians win a strategic victory. * January 18 – Proclamation of the German Empire: The member states of the North German Confederation and the sout ...

he was elected to 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 ...

in the provincial electoral district of Québec-Centre. At the time,

dual mandate A dual mandate is the practice in which elected officials serve in more than one elected or other public position simultaneously. This practice is sometimes known as double jobbing in Britain and ''cumul des mandats'' in France; not to be confused ...

s were still allowed. He served one term, until 1874. In 1876, he was re-elected in the riding of Charlevoix. His opponent contested the election and it was declared invalid, but he won the subsequent by-election in 1877. He was defeated in Rimouski in 1878 but elected by acclamation in the riding of Trois-Rivières in the same year. Langevin became Minister of Public Works again in 1879. He lobbied behind the scenes against the hanging of Louis Riel in 1885 and was one of the few Conservatives Members of Parliament to survive the resulting backlash in the province of Quebec in 1887. He was promised the post of

Lieutenant Governor of Quebec The lieutenant governor of Quebec (; French (masculine): ''Lieutenant-gouverneur du Québec'', or (feminine): ''Lieutenante-gouverneure du Québec'') is the viceregal representative in Quebec of the , who operates distinctly within the province ...

by the new Conservative Prime Minister John Abbott if he resigned as Minister of Public Works. Langevin stepped down in 1891 but Abbott appointed Joseph-Adolphe Chapleau instead. That year, Langevin was implicated with

Thomas McGreevy Thomas McGreevy (July 29, 1825 – January 2, 1897) was a Canadian politician and contractor. Born in Quebec, he was the son of Robert McGreevy, a blacksmith, and Rose Smith. In 1867 he was elected Member of Parliament (MP) for Quebec West ...

in what became known as the "McGreevy-Langevin scandal" over kickbacks to McGreevy associated with federal contracts granted to him by the department of public works overseen by Langevin. He retired to the backbenches and then left politics in 1896. Outside politics he was previously a newspaper editor.

View on Indigenous Canadians

In 1883 he stated in Parliament "In order to educate the (‘Indian’) children properly we must separate them from their families. Some people may say that this is hard but if we want to civilize them we must do that." "The fact is that if you wish to educate the children you must separate them from their parents during the time they are being taught. If you leave them in the family they may know how to read and write, but they will remain savages, whereas by separating them in the way proposed, they acquire the habits and tastes…of civilized people."

Posthumous recognition

The

Langevin Block The Office of the Prime Minister and Privy Council (french: Bureau du Premier ministre et du Conseil privé) building, formerly known as the Langevin Block (french: Édifice Langevin, ), is an office building facing Parliament Hill in Ottawa, O ...

office building on Parliament Hill and the Langevin Bridge in

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

were formerly named in his honour. Langevin's group of honours insignia was sold at auction in Ottawa on May 18, 2010 for $8000.00 On January 23, 2017, Calgary City Council voted to rename the Langevin Bridge to the

Reconciliation Bridge The Reconciliation Bridge (formerly the Langevin Bridge) is a through truss bridge in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It connects Downtown Calgary with north-central Calgary communities such as Bridgeland and Crescent Heights, by spanning the Bow Ri ...

. In June 2017 it was announced the Langevin Block would be renamed to the

Office of the Prime Minister and Privy Council The Office of the Prime Minister and Privy Council (french: Bureau du Premier ministre et du Conseil privé) building, formerly known as the Langevin Block (french: Édifice Langevin, ), is an office building facing Parliament Hill in Ottawa, On ...

building due to Langevin's involvement in the Canadian Indian residential school system. in June of 2021 a Calgary Board of Education public school was renamed Riverside School, after being Langevin school from 1936 until 2021.

Personal life

His brother,

Jean Langevin Jean-Pierre-François-Laforce Langevin (22 September 1821 – 26 January 1892) was born and lived his life in Quebec. He was taught by a governess before entering the '' Petit Séminaire de Quebec''. He began his studies for the priesthood at t ...

was a Roman Catholic bishop.

Electoral history

References

External links

National Library of Canada biography
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Langevin, Hector-Louis 1826 births 1906 deaths Canadian Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Companions of the Order of the Bath Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) MPs Conservative Party of Quebec MNAs Fathers of Confederation French Quebecers Lawyers in Quebec Mayors of Quebec City Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Quebec Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from Canada East Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada) Postmasters General of Canada Quebec lieutenants