Jean-Baptiste-Éric Dorion (September 17, 1826 – November 1, 1866) was a journalist and political figure in Canada East. He was born in Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pérade,

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada () was a British colonization of the Americas, British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence established in 1791 and abolished in 1841. It covered the southern portion o ...

in 1826, the son of Pierre-Antoine Dorion. In 1842, he found work as a clerk in a store at

Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières (, ; ) is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice River, Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence River, Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Sain ...

. He was editor and publisher of a small newspaper there, ''Gros Jean l'Escogriffe''. He moved to

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 ...

in 1844 and helped found the Institut canadien de Montréal. In 1847, he helped launch '' L'Avenir'' with George Batchelor. In the same year, he also helped found the Société Mercantile d’Économie, an association for store clerks, and served as secretary. He supported annexation to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. In 1852, ''L'Avenir'' ceased publication. Shortly afterward, Dorion moved to Durham (later L'Avenir). In 1854, he was elected to the

Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada The Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada was the lower house of the Parliament of the Province of Canada. The Province of Canada consisted of the former province of Lower Canada, then known as Canada East (now Quebec), and Upper Canada ...

for Drummond and Athabaska. He opposed the bill to abolish seigneurial tenure because he felt it was unfair to settlers. He was defeated in the 1857 election, but reelected in 1861 and 1863. In 1862, he founded another newspaper, ''Le Défricheur''. He opposed

Confederation A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

, because he thought that the provinces would be dominated by the federal government. He died in L'Avenir in 1866 after suffering a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

. His older brother Antoine-Aimé was a lawyer, member of the Legislative Assembly, co-premier for the Province of Canada and member of the Canadian House of Commons.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dorion, Jean-Baptiste-Eric 1826 births 1866 deaths Members of the Institut canadien de Montréal Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from Canada East People from Mauricie