Séverin Létourneau (23 May 1871 – 17 December 1949) was a Canadian politician and judge from Quebec who served as

Chief Justice of Quebec The title of Chief Justice of Quebec () is assumed by the chief justice of the Court of Appeal of Quebec. From 1849 to 1974 it was assumed by the Chief Justice from the Court of Queen's Bench or Court of King's Bench. Chief Justice of the Province ...

between 1943 and 1949. Létourneau was born in Saint-Constant, Quebec, the son of Hubert Létourneau and of Claire Vadney Lanctôt. He was educated at the École normale Jacques-Cartier and at the Université Laval à Montréal (now

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 ...

), where he took the

LL.B. 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 ...

in 1884. After articling in the chambers of Louis Conrad Pelletier, he was called to the Quebec bar on 9 July 1895. He was appointed

King'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 ...

on 30 June 1906. A Liberal, he was President of the ''Club libéral Saint-Henri'' between 1908 and 1911, Liberal Party organiser for the district of Montreal between 1911 and 1921, and President of the ''Fédération des clubs libéraux de la province de Québec'' in 1914. 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 Hochelaga in 1912 and reelected without opposition in 1916. He stood down from the Legislative Assembly in 1919, and represented Rigaud in the

Legislative Council of Quebec The Legislative Council of Quebec (, ) was the unelected upper house of the bicameral legislature in the Canadian province of Quebec from 1867 to 1968. The Legislative Assembly was the elected lower house. The council was composed of 24 memb ...

between 1919 and 1922. Létourneau was appointed a judge of the Court of King's Bench of Quebec on 25 January 1922 and

on 9 January 1943. In 1942, he served as Administrator of Quebec in the absence of the

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 ...

. He died in office in 1949. Létourneau married Antonine Lanctôt on 30 June 1896.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Letourneau, Severin 1871 births Canadian King's Counsel Université de Montréal Faculty of Law alumni Lawyers in Quebec Judges in Quebec Quebec Liberal Party MLCs Quebec Liberal Party MNAs 1949 deaths People from Saint-Constant, Quebec 20th-century members of the National Assembly of Quebec