Esioff-Léon Patenaude, , often called E.L. Patenaude (12 February 1875 – 7 February 1963), was a Canadian statesman who served as the 17th

Lieutenant Governor of Quebec The lieutenant governor of Quebec (; , ) is the representative in Quebec of the monarch, who Monarchy in Quebec, operates distinctly within the province but is also shared equally with the Canadian federalism, ten other jurisdictions of Canada. T ...

. Born in Saint-Isidore,

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, ...

, in 1875, he studied law at the

University of Montreal A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...

and was called to the Quebec Bar in 1899. He established a successful law practice, was soon drawn to politics, and served as a chief organizer for the

Conservative Party of Canada The Conservative Party of Canada (CPC; , ), sometimes referred to as the Tories, is a Government of Canada, federal List of political parties in Canada, political party in Canada. It was formed in 2003 by the merger of the two main Right-wing ...

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

. He was first elected to the

Quebec National Assembly The National Assembly of Quebec (, ) is the legislative body of the province of Quebec in Canada. Legislators are called MNAs (Members of the National Assembly; ). The lieutenant governor of Quebec (representing the King of Canada) and the Nat ...

as a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

in La Prairie in the 1908 provincial election and was re-elected in the 1912 election. In 1915, he was elected to the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada () is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Ca ...

in a by-election and joined the government of Prime Minister Sir

Robert Borden Sir Robert Laird Borden (June 26, 1854 – June 10, 1937) was a Canadian lawyer and Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942), Conservative politician who served as the eighth prime minister of Canada from 1911 to 1920. He is best known ...

Minister of Inland Revenue The Minister of Inland Revenue is the political office of Minister (government), Minister for the department of Inland Revenue which is responsible for the collection of taxes. "Minister of Inland Revenue" is a title held by politicians in differen ...

. He served in that position until early 1917, when he was appointed as Secretary of State and Minister of Mines. In July, however, Patenaude resigned from the

Canadian Cabinet The Canadian Ministry ( French: ''Conseil des ministres''), colloquially referred to as the Cabinet of Canada (), is a body of ministers of the Crown that, along with the Canadian monarch, and within the tenets of the Westminster system, forms ...

in protest of the government's decision to implement

conscription Conscription, also known as the draft in the United States and Israel, is the practice in which the compulsory enlistment in a national service, mainly a military service, is enforced by law. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it conti ...

. He chose not to seek re-election in the 1917 federal election. When

Arthur Meighen Arthur Meighen ( ; June 16, 1874 – August 5, 1960) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the ninth prime minister of Canada from 1920 to 1921 and from June to September 1926. He led the Conservative Party from 1920 to 1926 and ...

became Prime Minister in 1920, he offered Patenaude a seat in cabinet, who declined. Returning to provincial politics, Patenaude was re-elected to the Quebec National Assembly in Jacques-Cartier in 1923. In 1925, however, Meighen persuaded Patenaude to return to federal politics as his

Quebec lieutenant In Canadian politics, a Quebec lieutenant () is a Quebec politician who is selected by the party leader to be the main advisor or spokesperson on issues specific to Quebec. This is particularly the case when the leader is an anglophone, though se ...

. He was given almost exclusive authority over the Conservative Party's campaign in Quebec during the 1925 federal election as Meighen's

. Patenaude proved, however, to be little match for

Ernest Lapointe Ernest Lapointe (October 6, 1876 – November 26, 1941) was a Canadian lawyer and politician. A member of Parliament from Quebec City, he was a senior minister in the government of Prime Minister W. L. Mackenzie King, playing an importa ...

and the

Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada (LPC; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia''. and generally sits at the Centrism, ...

, and secured only 4 seats in the province. Patenaude, who had resigned his seat in the

to contest the election, was himself defeated. Despite the setback, Patenaude continued to enjoy the favour of Meighen. When Meighen formed a second government in 1926, he appointed Patenaude as

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

and

Attorney General of Canada The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often vocalize it as st ...

. Patenaude led the Conservative Party in Quebec for a second time during the 1926 federal election but again fared poorly and was himself defeated. In 1934, the

Governor General of Canada The governor general of Canada () is the federal representative of the . The monarch of Canada is also sovereign and head of state of 14 other Commonwealth realms and resides in the United Kingdom. The monarch, on the Advice (constitutional la ...

, on the advice of Canadian Prime Minister

Richard Bedford Bennett Richard Bedford Bennett, 1st Viscount Bennett (July 3, 1870 – June 26, 1947) was a Canadian lawyer, businessman, philanthropist, and politician who served as the 11th prime minister of Canada from 1930 to 1935. Bennett was born in Ho ...

, appointed Patenaude as

, a position in which he served until his retirement from public life in 1939. In his later years, he experienced a successful career as a banker (became President of the

Provincial Bank of Canada The Provincial Bank of Canada (French: ''Banque provinciale du Canada'') was a Canadian bank that existed from 1861 to 1979. The bank was founded in Montreal as the Banque Jacques-Cartier, and on 7 May 1900 changed its name to the Banque provinc ...

in 1946) and businessman (as director of McColl Frontenac, Crown Life Insurance and board of Texaco Canada).

Electoral record

External links

* * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Patenaude, Esioff-Leon 1875 births 1963 deaths Canadian King's Counsel Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) MPs Lieutenant governors of Quebec Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Quebec Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Conservative Party of Quebec MNAs Université de Montréal alumni Quebec lieutenants Politicians from Montérégie Burials at Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery 20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada 20th-century members of the National Assembly of Quebec