Joseph-Israël Tarte, (January 11, 1848 – December 18, 1907) was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

politician and journalist. Tarte came to prominence as editor of several newspapers, ''

Le Canadien ''Le Canadien'' () was a French language newspaper published at various times in Lower Canada, then the Province of Canada, and finally the province of Quebec, at various times in the 19th century. It went through three different publication pha ...

'', '' L'Événement'', '' La Patrie'', and the '' Quebec Daily Mercury''. He was initially a follower of Sir

George-Étienne Cartier Sir George-Étienne Cartier, 1st Baronet, (pronounced ; September 6, 1814May 20, 1873) was a Canadians, Canadian statesman and Fathers of Confederation, Father of Confederation. The English spelling of the name—George, instead of Georges, th ...

before hardening into a conservative ultramontanist supporter of Church intervention into politics but later became a Liberal and a critic of the Church. In 1876, Tarte was in charge of the campaign to elect

Hector Langevin Sir Hector-Louis Langevin, (August 25, 1826 – June 11, 1906) was a Canadian lawyer, politician, and one of the Fathers of Confederation. Early life and education Langevin was born in Quebec City in 1826. He studied law and was called to t ...

to parliament and supported, in his published articles, the clergy's intervention in the

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

. Langevin was Cartier's successor as

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 ...

to Sir

John A. Macdonald Sir John Alexander Macdonald (10 or 11January 18156June 1891) was the first prime minister of Canada, serving from 1867 to 1873 and from 1878 until his death in 1891. He was the dominant figure of Canadian Confederation, and had a political ...

and de facto leader of the federal Conservative Party in French Canada. A

Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; , ) is the highest court in the judicial system of Canada. It comprises nine justices, whose decisions are the ultimate application of Canadian law, and grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants eac ...

decision declared that sermons by the clergy during the by-election campaign had played an intimidating role termed ''influence indue spirituelle'' or "undue spiritual influence" - thus the court overturned the vote and called a new by-election which Langevin won by a reduced margin. Tarte himself sat as a member of the Quebec legislative assembly from 1877 to 1881 in the riding of

Bonaventure Bonaventure ( ; ; ; born Giovanni di Fidanza; 1221 – 15 July 1274) was an Italian Catholic Franciscan bishop, Cardinal (Catholic Church), cardinal, Scholasticism, scholastic theologian and philosopher. The seventh Minister General ( ...

and made moderate Conservative

Joseph-Adolphe Chapleau Sir Joseph-Adolphe Chapleau (; November 9, 1840 – June 13, 1898), born in Sainte-Thérèse, Quebec, was a French-Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 7th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec from 1892 to 1898. Life As a lawyer, he defe ...

, Langevin's rival, a frequent target of both speeches and editorials. He was also charged with organizing the federal Conservative Party's campaign in the

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

region for the 1878 federal election He reconciled with Chapleau but was left out of his Cabinet along with the rest of the ultramontanist faction when he became

Premier of Quebec The premier of Quebec ( (masculine) or eminine is the head of government of the Canadian province of Quebec. The current premier of Quebec is François Legault of the Coalition Avenir Québec, sworn in on October 18, 2018, following tha ...

. Tarte chose not to run for re-election in 1881, partly due to being disconcerted by the Vatican's warnings against clerical influence in politics which would be synthesized in 1885 in the Encyclical

Immortale Dei ''Immortale Dei'' written in 1885 is one of five encyclicals of Pope Leo XIII on Church-State relations. Context The encyclical ''Immortale Dei'' of Pope Leo XIII, Concerning the Christian Constitution of States (''De Civitatum Constitutione Ch ...

. By 1882 he had abandoned ultramontanism and returned to his earlier "

Liberal-Conservative Liberal conservatism is a political ideology combining conservative policies with liberal stances, especially on economic issues but also on social and ethical matters, representing a brand of political conservatism strongly influenced by libe ...

" position of moderation from which he criticised those who continued to hold an ultramontanist position. Tarte became increasingly disillusioned in the Conservative Party due to the Conservative government's hostility or indifference to French Canada in issues such as the

Manitoba Schools Question The Manitoba Schools Question () was a political crisis in the Canadian province of Manitoba that occurred late in the 19th century, attacking publicly-funded separate schools for Roman Catholics and Protestants. The crisis was precipitated by a ...

and the trial and execution of

Louis Riel Louis Riel (; ; 22 October 1844 – 16 November 1885) was a Canadian politician, a founder of the province of Manitoba, and a political leader of the Métis in Canada, Métis people. He led two resistance movements against the Government of ...

- while Tarte had supported crushing the Second Riel Rebellion he was troubled by the government's decision to allow Riel to hang. After briefly joining the

Parti national The Parti National () was the name taken by the Liberal Party of Quebec, Canada, under the premiership of Honoré Mercier. Origin and beliefs It was founded on November 17, 1885, the day following the execution of Métis Leader Louis Riel. ...

, he joined 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, ...

. He played the leading role in exposing the McGreevy-Langevin scandal that resulted in McGreevy's expulsion from the House of Commons for corruption and forcing the resignation from Cabinet of Langevin, his former mentor. Tarte entered federal politics and 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 the 1891 federal election 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 ...

. Once in parliament, however, he exposed the McGreevy-Langevin scandal which discredited the Conservative Party, forced Sir

's resignation from the Cabinet. Tarte was unseated in 1892 due to a court challenge to his election but re-entered parliament the next year as an independent and was soon invited by

Wilfrid Laurier Sir Henri Charles Wilfrid Laurier (November 20, 1841 – February 17, 1919) was a Canadian lawyer, statesman, and Liberal politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Canada from 1896 to 1911. The first French Canadians, French ...

to join the Liberals. In parliament, Tarte accused the Conservatives of bad faith in the

and reneging on a promise to Manitoba's Archbishop Taché to intervene. When the Liberals took power following the 1896 federal election, Laurier appointed Tarte to Cabinet as Minister of Public Works. As such, Tarte dispensed patronage, helped solidify ties with the business community in Montreal and developed the

Port of Montreal The Port of Montreal (, ) ( ACI Canadian Port Code: 0395, UN/LOCODE: CA MTR) is a cruise and transshipment point. It is located on the St. Lawrence River in Montreal, Québec, Canada. The port operates as an international container port. It serv ...

. Later in his political career, Tarte opposed Canadian involvement in the

Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic an ...

and called for greater Canadian independence from Britain. Paradoxically, he later opposed Liberal policy on reciprocity campaigning instead for greater economic unity of the

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

and higher tariffs. This resulted in Laurier dismissing Tarte in October 1902 for breaking Cabinet solidarity. Tarte's

protectionism Protectionism, sometimes referred to as trade protectionism, is the economic policy of restricting imports from other countries through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, import quotas, and a variety of other government regulations ...

brought him back into the orbit of the Conservative Party, now led by

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 ...

and Tarte briefly became the Conservative Party's Quebec organizer for two by-elections but chose not to run for re-election himself in the 1904 federal election choosing to return to journalism. His flirtation with the Conservatives ended and Tarte supported Laurier editorially. Physically, he grew increasingly weaker until his death in 1907.

Electoral record

References

External links

Joseph Israel Tarte: Relations between the French Canadian Episcopacy and a French Canadian Politician (1874-1896)
' by Laurier Lapierre M.A.
Joseph-Israel Tarte, Canadian Encyclopedia
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tarte, Joseph-Israel Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Conservative Party of Quebec MNAs Journalists from Quebec Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Quebec Liberal Party of Canada MPs 1848 births 1907 deaths Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada) 19th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Quebec 19th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada 20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada

Archives

Electoral record

References

External links