Télesphore-Damien Bouchard (December 20, 1881 – November 13, 1962) was a politician in

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, Canada. Born in

Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec Saint-Hyacinthe ( , ) is a city in southwestern Quebec east of Montreal on the Yamaska River. The population as of the 2021 Canadian census was 57,239. The city is located in Les Maskoutains Regional County Municipality of the Montérégie r ...

, he was the mayor of the municipality from 1917 to 1930 and from 1932 to 1944 and president of the

Federation of Canadian Municipalities The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM, ''Fédération canadienne des municipalités'') is an advocacy group representing over 2000 Canadian municipalities. It is an organization with no formal power but significant ability to influence ...

in 1918. He also founded the Union des municipalités de la province de Québec (Federation of municipalities in the province of Quebec) in 1919. He served as Liberal leader of the Opposition in the

Legislative Assembly of Quebec A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the authority, legal authority to make laws for a Polity, political entity such as a Sovereign state, country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with th ...

from 1936 to 1939, after Liberal leader

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, in addition to serving as the leader of the Part ...

lost the 1936 election and also narrowly lost his own seat. Bouchard served as opposition leader while Godbout remained leader of the Liberal Party. After the Liberals returned to power in the 1939 election, he served in Godbout's cabinet. Resigned in 1944 when he was appointed to the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

, where he remained until his death. Overall, he was the MLA for the district of

Saint-Hyacinthe Saint-Hyacinthe ( , ) is a city in southwestern Quebec east of Montreal on the Yamaska River. The population as of the 2021 Canadian census was 57,239. The city is located in Les Maskoutains Regional County Municipality of the Montérégie regi ...

from 1912 to 1919 and from 1923 to 1944. A leading campaigner for public ownership of electric utilities, he became first president of

Hydro-Québec Hydro-Québec () is a Canadian Crown corporations of Canada#Quebec, Crown corporation public utility headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. It manages the electricity generation, generation, electric power transmission, transmission and electricity ...

in April 1944. Two months later he was fired by Premier Godbout, after Bouchard made a series of anticlerical statements.

Biography

* GUTTMAN, Frank Myron, The Devil from Saint-Hyacinthe: Senator Télesphore-Damien Bouchard, A Tragic Hero, iUniverse Books, New York, 2007, 405 p.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bouchard, Telesphore-Damien 1881 births 1962 deaths Canadian senators from Quebec Liberal Party of Canada senators Mayors of Saint-Hyacinthe Quebec Liberal Party MNAs Presidents of the National Assembly of Quebec Hydro-Québec Vice presidents of the National Assembly of Quebec 20th-century mayors of places in Quebec 20th-century members of the National Assembly of Quebec 20th-century members of the Senate of Canada

Biography

See also

References

External links