Wilfrid Lacroix (6 March 1891 – 30 August 1970) was a member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1935 to 1958. His affiliation was mostly with the

Liberal party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

except between 1944 and 1949 when he left the party to act as an "

Independent Liberal Independent Liberal is a description allowed in politics to denote party affiliation. It is used to designate a politician as a liberal, yet independent of the official Liberal Party of a country. Those parties were the Liberal Party of Canada, ...

" member. Lacroix was born 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 ...

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 ...

and worked as an architect in the early 20th century. His projects included the Gérard-Morisset Building of the

Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec The Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec ( en, National Museum of Fine Arts of Quebec), abbreviated as MNBAQ, is an art museum in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The museum is situated in Battlefield Park and is a complex consisting of four bui ...

which was designed in the

Beaux-Arts style Beaux-Arts architecture ( , ) was the academic architectural style taught at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, particularly from the 1830s to the end of the 19th century. It drew upon the principles of French neoclassicism, but also incorpor ...

and opened in 1933 as the Quebec Provincial Museum. He was first elected at the

Québec—Montmorency Québec—Montmorency was a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1925 to 1968. This riding was created in 1924 from parts of Charlevoix—Montmorency and Quebec County rid ...

riding in the 1935 general election and was re-elected for successive terms in 1940 federal election, 1945 federal election, 1949 federal election, 1953 federal election and 1957 federal election. Lacroix was defeated by Robert Lafrenière of the Progressive Conservative party in the 1958 election. On 30 January 1939, Lacroix presented to the House of Commons a petition of 127,364 signatures collected by the

Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society The Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society (french: Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste) is an institution in Quebec dedicated to the protection of Quebec francophone interests and to the promotion of Quebec sovereignism. It is known as the oldest patriotic asso ...

"vigorously protesting against all immigration what so ever and especially Jewish immigration". On 10 September that year, as Parliament met to declare war on Germany and join

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, Lacroix and fellow Quebec Liberal member Liguori Lacombe introduced an amendment for "non-participation" in the war, reflecting some reluctance in French Canada to join Britain in war. The two members were condemned in a ''

Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it f ...

'' editorial the following day as "two French-Canadians who gained eternal distinction by an attitude unworthy of their people and country." On 24 November 1944, Lacroix and three other Quebec Liberal members left their party to protest the enactment of conscription. Lacroix joined the "Independent Group" of opposition anti-conscription MPs led by

Frédéric Dorion Frédéric Dorion (August 23, 1898 – July 15, 1981) was a Quebec politician and chief justice. He led a group of Independent MPs in the House of Commons of Canada who were opposed to the implementation of conscription during World War II. ...

. As Lacroix moved to the opposition side of the House of Commons, he shouted ''"Trahison!"'' ("Treason") at Prime Minister

William Lyon 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 L ...

. Lacroix was re-elected in the 1945 federal election and until June 1949, sat in the House of Commons as an "Independent Liberal". On three occasions, he introduced legislation which attempted to outlaw the Communist party, and the associated

Labor-Progressive Party The Labor-Progressive Party (french: Parti ouvrier-progressiste) was the legal front of the Communist Party of Canada from 1943 to 1959. Origins and initial success In the 1940 federal election, the Communist Party led a popular front in se ...

. He returned to the Liberal party by the 1949 federal election and remained a party member until his House of Commons career ended in 1958. Lacroix died in

on 30 August 1970.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lacroix, Wilfrid 1891 births 1970 deaths Canadian architects Independent Liberal MPs in Canada Liberal Party of Canada MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Quebec Politicians from Quebec City