Édouard Lacroix (January 6, 1889 – January 19, 1963) was a politician and business person 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 Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Background

He was born on January 6, 1889, in

Sainte-Marie, Quebec Sainte-Marie () is a city in the province of Quebec, Canada. It is the seat of La Nouvelle-Beauce Regional County Municipality, in Chaudière-Appalaches, Quebec, Canada. It had a population was 13,134 as of the Canada 2021 Census, when 95.7% w ...

. At the age of 12, he began working in United States lumber camps along the

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

border, where he learned the

logging Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidder, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or trunk (botany), logs onto logging truck, trucksSaint-Georges, Quebec Saint-Georges () is a city in the province of Quebec, Canada. It is the seat of Beauce-Sartigan Regional County Municipality, part of the Chaudière-Appalaches region. The population was 32,935 as of the Canada 2021 Census. Route 173 runs ...

, at the age of 16 and formed his own company in 1911. He made career in forestry and opened a lumber plant in

Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine () is an administrative region of Quebec consisting of the Gaspé Peninsula () and the . It lies in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence at the eastern extreme of southern Quebec. The predominant economic activities are fishing, forestry and tourism. ...

Member of Parliament

Lacroix ran as a Liberal candidate in the district of Beauce in the 1925 federal election and won. He was re-elected in the

1926 In Turkey, the year technically contained only 352 days. As Friday, December 18, 1926 ''(Julian Calendar)'' was followed by Saturday, January 1, 1927 '' (Gregorian Calendar)''. 13 days were dropped to make the switch. Turkey thus became the ...

1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be on J ...

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * January 12 – Amelia Earhart ...

, and 1940 elections. In September 1939, Lacroix and his fellow Quebec Liberal MP Liguori Lacombe introduced an amendment calling for Canadian "non-participation" in the

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, which reflected some reluctance by French Canadians to join Britain in the war. The two MPs, who proved to be the amendment's only supporters, 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 more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it fall ...

'' editorial the following day as "two French-Canadians who gained eternal distinction by an attitude unworthy of their people and country." Via

Canadian Museum of Civilization The Canadian Museum of History () is a national museum on anthropology, Canadian history, cultural studies, and ethnology in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. The purpose of the museum is to promote the heritage of Canada, as well as support related res ...

digital collections. He left the Liberals and joined the Bloc populaire canadien on February 18, 1943. He resigned his seat on July 11, 1944, to switch to provincial politics.

Provincial politics

Lacroix, who had been a supporter of the

Action libérale nationale The Action libérale nationale (; ALN; ) was a short-lived provincial political party in Quebec, Canada. It was founded during the Great Depression and led by Paul Gouin. The ALN played an important role in the foundation of the Union National ...

in the 1930s, successfully ran as a Bloc populaire candidate in the provincial district of Beauce in the 1944 provincial election. He never took his seat at the Legislative Assembly. He resigned and left politics on May 14, 1945.

Death

He died on January 19, 1963.

References

External links

* 1889 births 1963 deaths Bloc populaire canadien MPs Bloc populaire MNAs Liberal Party of Canada MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Quebec Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada) People from Sainte-Marie, Quebec 20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada 20th-century members of the National Assembly of Quebec {{Liberal-Quebec-MP-stub