Sir Louis-Amable Jetté, (; 15 January 1836 – 5 May 1920) 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 ...

lawyer, politician, judge, and professor who served as

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 ...

and chief justice of the Court of King's Bench.

Biography

He was born in L'Assomption,

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 ...

(now

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, ...

) on January 15, 1836, son of Amable Jette and Caroline Goffreau. After receiving a classical education at the Collège de L’Assomption, he studied law at the

Collège Sainte-Marie In France, secondary education is in two stages: * ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 14. * ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for students between ...

, before being called to the bar in 1857. He then practiced law in

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 ...

, notably participating in the Guibord case. A Liberal, 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 ...

representing the riding of

Montreal East 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 ...

1872 Events January * January 12 – Yohannes IV is crowned Emperor of Ethiopia in Axum, the first ruler crowned in that city in over 500 years. *January 20 – The Cavite mutiny was an uprising of Filipino military personnel of Fort S ...

, defeating Sir George-Étienne Cartier. He was re-elected in

1874 Events January * January 1 – New York City annexes The Bronx. * January 2 – Ignacio María González becomes head of state of the Dominican Republic for the first time. * January 3 – Third Carlist War: Battle of Caspe &n ...

. In 1878, he left politics and became a judge of the

Superior Court of Quebec The Superior Court of Quebec () is a superior trial court in the Province of Quebec, in Canada. It consists of 157 judges who are appointed by the federal government. Appeals from this court are taken to the Quebec Court of Appeal. Jurisdicti ...

; the same year, he joined the law faculty of the newly-established

Université Laval (; English: ''Laval University)'' is a public research university in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The university traces its roots to the Séminaire de Québec, founded by François de Montmorency-Laval in 1663, making it the oldest institutio ...

in Montreal (later the

Université de Montréal The Université de Montréal (; UdeM; ) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce on M ...

). From 1898 to 1908 he was the

. He was knighted as a

Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III ...

(KCMG) during the visit to Quebec of the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York (later

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. George was born during the reign of his pa ...

and Queen Mary) in October 1901. He served as lieutenant governor until 1908, when he returned to the Superior Court bench, becoming chief justice of the Court of King's Bench in 1909. He retired from judicial service in 1911. He was entombed at the

Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery (, ) is a rural cemetery located in the borough of Côte-des-Neiges-Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, which was founded in 1854. The entrance and the grounds run along a part of Côte-des-Neiges Ro ...

in Montreal.

Family

His wife, Lady Jette, was the daughter of Rodolphe Laflamme and his wife. She was born in

March 27, 1841. The couple married in 1862 and lived at `Spencerwood,` Quebec. She volunteered with various benevolent and religious institutions connected with the Roman Catholic Church in Canada. She wrote a biography of Saint Marie-Marguerite d'Youville who founded the religious order the Order of Sisters of Charity of Montreal (also known as the Grey Sisters).

Electoral record

Legacy

Mount Jetté in British Columbia, just inside the junction of the BC, Alaska and Yukon borders at the province's extreme northwest, is named for him. Jetté was a member of the Canadian Boundary Tribunal leading to the resolution of the

Alaska Boundary Dispute The Alaska boundary dispute was a territorial dispute between the United States and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, which then controlled Canada's foreign relations. It was resolved by arbitration in 1903. The dispute had existe ...

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jette, Louis-Amable 1836 births 1920 deaths Canadian Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Liberal Party of Canada MPs Lieutenant governors of Quebec Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Quebec Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada) Judges in Quebec Politicians from Lanaudière Burials at Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery 19th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada