Antoine-Philéas Côté (19 August 1903 – 27 September 1954) was a

Liberal party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

and

Independent Liberal Independent Liberal is a description which candidates and politicians have used to describe themselves, designating them as liberals, yet independent of the official Liberal Party of their country. To avoid confusion with the Liberal Party of ...

member of 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 ...

. He was born in Métis, Quebec and became an author and journalist by career. He is known for his early attempts to officially establish "

O Canada "O Canada" () is the national anthem of Canada. The song was originally commissioned by Lieutenant Governor of Quebec Théodore Robitaille for the 1880 Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day ceremony; Calixa Lavallée composed the music, after which French- ...

" as the national anthem and to rename the national holiday to

Canada Day Canada Day, formerly known as Dominion Day, is the national day of Canada. A Public holidays in Canada, federal statutory holiday, it celebrates the anniversary of Canadian Confederation which occurred on July 1, 1867, with the passing of the B ...

Education and early career

Côté attended Quebec Seminary then

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 ...

where he received his

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

degree. He attended

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

for further post-graduate studies. His journalistic work appeared in ''

Le Soleil Le Soleil ("The Sun") is the name of several newspapers: * ''Le Soleil'' (Quebec), a French-language daily newspaper in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, founded in 1896 * ''Le Soleil'' (French newspaper), a defunct daily newspaper based in Paris fro ...

'', '' La Patrie'' and ''Le Canada''. He also served as the French-language director of the Liberal Party Association, and served on the

National Film Board The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; ) is a Canadian public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary films, animation, web documentaries, and altern ...

Political career

He was first elected as an Independent Liberal member of Parliament at the Matapédia—Matane riding in the 1945 general election. He and a number of other Quebec Liberals had broken with their party the year before during the

Conscription Crisis of 1944 The Conscription Crisis of 1944 was a political and military crisis following the introduction of forced military service for men in Canada during World War II. It was similar to the Conscription Crisis of 1917, but not as politically damaging. ...

, quitting the party in order to oppose the government's decision to deploy

National Resources Mobilization Act The ''National Resources Mobilization Act, 1940'' (, 4 George VI, Chap. 13) was a statute of the Parliament of Canada passed to provide for better planning of a much greater Canadian war effort, both overseas and in military production at home. ...

conscripts overseas. Previously, conscripts had only been used for "home defence" and kept within Canada. During his first term in office he joined the Liberal Party and became a member of the party's caucus and was re-elected in the 1949 election as an official Liberal candidate. In 1946, Côté introduced a

private member's bill A private member's bill is a bill (proposed law) introduced into a legislature by a legislator who is not acting on behalf of the executive branch. The designation "private member's bill" is used in most Westminster system jurisdictions, in wh ...

to rename the

Dominion Day Dominion Day was a day commemorating the granting of certain countries Dominion status — that is, "autonomous Communities within the British Empire, equal in status, in no way subordinate one to another in any aspect of their domestic or externa ...

holiday to

. His bill was passed quickly by the House of Commons but was stalled by the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

which returned the bill to the Commons recommending that the holiday be renamed "The National Holiday of Canada". The Senate amendment effectively killed Côté's Canada Day bill. The national holiday was not renamed Canada Day until 1982. Côté moved in Parliament that Canada be officially named "The Kingdom of Canada" arguing that this would clarify the nationhood status of Canada and its association with Britain, especially for immigrants. This resolution was defeated by the House of Commons on 22 April 1952. He also sought to designate the song "O Canada" as the official

national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European ...

, a status which was not granted until 1980.

Death

Côté died unexpectedly on 27 September 1954 of 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 ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cote, Antoine-Phileas 1903 births 1954 deaths Harvard University alumni Liberal Party of Canada MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Quebec Université Laval alumni Independent Liberal MPs in Canada 20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada