Alexandre Gélinas (1894–1965) was a local politician in

Shawinigan Shawinigan (; ) is a city located on the Saint-Maurice River in the Mauricie area in Quebec, Canada. It had a population of 49,620 as of the 2021 Canadian census. Shawinigan is also a territory equivalent to a regional county municipality (TE) ...

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, ...

. He was the tenth Mayor of

from 1937 to 1938. He was born in 1894 in Saint-Barnabé, in the

Mauricie Mauricie () is a traditional and current administrative region of Quebec. La Mauricie National Park is contained within the region, making tourism in Mauricie popular. The region has a land area of 35,860.05 km2 (13,845.64 sq mi) and a popu ...

region in

Quebec, Canada Quebec is Canada's 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, New Brunswick to the southeast and a coastal border ...

and was married to Laure Lauterreur. Although they never had children of their own, they looked after Nicole Houde who was 12 years old at the time, from 1949 to 1951. She was the niece of Laure and had just lost her mother, Thérèse Laterreur, sister of Laure, to

breast cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...

. He studied law in Manitoba and also practiced as a lawyer in that province for a few years. He then returned to his home province of Québec where he founded his own law firm (Lafond, Gélinas) located on 5^e rue (Fifth Street).

Jean Chrétien Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien (; born January 11, 1934) is a retired Canadian politician, statesman, and lawyer who served as the 20th prime minister of Canada from 1993 to 2003. He served as Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, leader of t ...

, Canada's 20th prime minister, articled and practiced at the firm from 1959 to 1960. He ran for

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

in the special election that was held on May 3, 1937, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Lucien Bourassa and won against J.A. Bilodeau. During the time he was mayor, a municipal auditorium and St. Marc Park were built. He served the remainder of Bourassa's unexpired term. In 1938, he ran for re-election but was defeated by Bilodeau. He was a long-standing member of

Rotary International Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. The self-declared mission of Rotary, as stated on its website, is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and p ...

and a governor of its Shawinigan chapter. Gélinas died in 1965.

Footnotes

1894 births 1961 deaths Mayors of Shawinigan Lawyers in Quebec 20th-century mayors of places in Quebec {{Quebec-mayor-stub