Joseph Raymond Fournier Préfontaine, (; 16 September 1850 – 25 December 1905) 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. He was the
Mayor of Montreal
The mayor of Montreal is head of the executive branch of the Montreal City Council. The current mayor is Valérie Plante, who was elected into office on November 5, 2017, and sworn in on November 16. The office of the mayor administers all ci ...
from 1898 to 1902, and sent Captain
Joseph-Elzéar Bernier to explore the Arctic.
Biography
Born in
Longueuil, Quebec
Longueuil () is a city in the province of Quebec, Canada. It is the seat of the Montérégie administrative region and the central city of the urban agglomeration of Longueuil. It sits on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River directly ...
, he studied at the law faculty of
McGill College
McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...
, articled with
Antoine-Aimé Dorion
Sir Antoine-Aimé Dorion (January 17, 1818May 31, 1891) was a French Canadian politician and jurist.
Early years
Dorion was born in Ste-Anne-de-la-Pérade into a family with liberal values that had been sympathetic to the Patriotes in 1837 ...
and
Christophe-Alphonse Geoffrion, and was called to the bar in 1873. He was named a
Queen's Counsel
A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...
in 1899.
In 1875, he was elected to the
Legislative Assembly of Quebec
A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the authority, legal authority to make laws for a Polity, political entity such as a Sovereign state, country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with th ...
for the riding of
Chambly. A
Liberal, he was defeated in 1878. He was re-elected in an 1879 by-election, but was defeated again in 1881.
He was acclaimed 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 ...
for the riding of
Chambly in an 1886 by-election. A
Liberal, he was re-elected in every election in one or another riding until dying in office in 1905. From 1902 to 1905, he was the
Minister of Marine and Fisheries. When Joseph-Israel Tarte resigned from the Cabinet as Minister of Public Works in October 1902, Wilfrid Laurier, under pressure from Montréalers, gave Préfontaine the portfolio of Marine and Fisheries and, for the same reason, transferred to it from public works as "the major services relating to navigation."
The new minister, while maintaining his predecessor's policy, tackled his duties with dynamic energy. He approved experiments in winter navigation and a program for installing illuminated buoys in the channel of the St Lawrence. He appointed a commissioner to preside over all inquiries into marine disasters, in place of the harbour commissioners. He also investigated the possibility of creating an independent
Canadian Navy. He sent Captain
Joseph-Elzéar Bernier to explore the Arctic in order to strengthen Canada's rights in this region.
In 1905, he went to Great Britain and France, one of his goals being to promote a sea link between Marseilles and Montréal. He was in Paris when he was struck down by
angina pectoris
Angina, also known as angina pectoris, is chest pain or pressure, usually caused by insufficient blood flow to the heart muscle (myocardium). It is most commonly a symptom of coronary artery disease.
Angina is typically the result of part ...
on 25 December. The French government held his funeral in the
Église de La Madeleine in central Paris. A British battleship brought his remains back to Halifax for subsequent burial in Montréal.
From 1879 to 1883, he was the mayor of
Hochelaga, after which the city was amalgamated with Montreal. From 1898 to 1902, he was the
Mayor of Montreal
The mayor of Montreal is head of the executive branch of the Montreal City Council. The current mayor is Valérie Plante, who was elected into office on November 5, 2017, and sworn in on November 16. The office of the mayor administers all ci ...
.
Montréal's
Préfontaine metro station, aréna Raymond-Préfontaine, parc Raymond-Préfontaine and rue Préfontaine are all named in his honour.
Gallery
Image:Raymond Préfontaine.png
Image:Raymond Prefontaine.JPG
Image:Raymond Préfontaine pierre tombale.JPG
Electoral record
External links
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prefontaine, Raymond
1850 births
1905 deaths
19th-century mayors of places in Quebec
20th-century mayors of places in Quebec
Quebec Liberal Party MNAs
Liberal Party of Canada MPs
Mayors of Montreal
Lawyers in Quebec
Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Quebec
Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada
McGill University Faculty of Science alumni
People from Longueuil
Canadian King's Counsel
Burials at Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery
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