Joseph-Tancrède Labbé (June 18, 1887 – December 13, 1956) was a prominent

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, ...

politician and businessman. He was the father of media mogul

François Labbé François Labbé (September 23, 1928 – December 24, 2018) was a Canadian mass media owner who started the first commercial French-language radio network in Canada, the Réseau des Appalaches, in 1972. Life and career Born in Thetford Mines, Que ...

Background

He was born on June 18, 1887, in East Broughton to parents who operated a farm and studied at the Frères des écoles chrétiennes, and studied commerce in Sainte-Marie. He first worked as a general store clerk, and after that as a manager from 1913 to 1919 and after that, became a grocer when he founded T. Labbé Ltd. He also started an

ice cream Ice cream is a frozen dessert typically made from milk or cream that has been flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as Chocolate, cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit, such as strawberries or peaches. Food ...

plant, Produits Régal LTD, in 1921, which remained in business until the 1980s, but with different owners. He was a member of the provincial ice cream producers association and became a director for Thetford Asbestos, a mining company. Labbé was honorary member of the

Thetford Mines Thetford Mines (; Canada 2021 Census population 26,072) is a city in south-central Quebec, Canada. It is the seat of Les Appalaches Regional County Municipality. The city is located in the Appalachian Mountains, 187 km east-northeast of Mo ...

Chamber of Commerce from 1931 to 1937 and from 1947 to 1951. Member of the Canadian Club,

Rotary Club Rotary International is one of the largest Service club, service organizations in the world. The self-declared mission of Rotary, as stated on its website, is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, go ...

and the

Knights of Columbus The Knights of Columbus (K of C) is a global Catholic Church, Catholic Fraternal and service organizations, fraternal service order founded by Michael J. McGivney, Blessed Michael J. McGivney. Membership is limited to practicing Catholic men. ...

Mayor

He was elected mayor of

on February 3, 1931, and kept his seat until February 9, 1937. He was elected mayor again in May 1946 and stayed there until May 1951.

Member of the legislature

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 ...

in Mégantic in

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * January 12 – Amelia Earhart ...

for the

Action libérale nationale The Action libérale nationale (; ALN; ) was a short-lived provincial political party in Quebec, Canada. It was founded during the Great Depression and led by Paul Gouin. The ALN played an important role in the foundation of the Union National ...

. Labbé joined

Maurice Duplessis Maurice Le Noblet Duplessis, (; April 20, 1890 – September 7, 1959) byname "Le Chef" (, "The Boss"), was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 16th premier of Quebec. A Conservatism in Canada, conservative, Quebec nationalism, ...

's Union Nationale and was re-elected in

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King Edward VIII, following the death of his father, George V, at Sandringham House. * January 28 – Death and state funer ...

. He was defeated in

1939 This year also marks the start of the World War II, Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Events related to World War II have a "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Coming into effect in Nazi Ger ...

, but managed to win a

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 ...

on November 19, 1940, and was re-elected in

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free France, Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command First Army (France), French Army B, part of the Sixt ...

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, ...

and

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...

. He became a

Minister without Portfolio A minister without portfolio is a government minister without specific responsibility as head of a government department. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet with decision-making authorit ...

in Duplessis's Cabinet in 1944. With 11 years in office, he was the longest-tenured mayor of Thetford Mines until

Henri Therrien Henri is the French form of the masculine given name Henry, also in Estonian, Finnish, German and Luxembourgish. Bearers of the given name include: People French nobles * Henri I de Montmorency (1534–1614), Marshal and Constable of France * ...

retired after 12 years in office in 1999. He was the only politician to have been mayor of Thetford Mines and provincial MLA at the same time, from 1935 to 1937 and from 1946 to 1951, a practice that is now forbidden in Quebec.

Laurent Lessard Laurent Lessard (born October 28, 1962, in Thetford Mines, Quebec) is a politician and notary in Quebec, Canada. He was the Member of the National Assembly for the provincial ridings of Frontenac and Lotbinière-Frontenac from 2003 to 2018 in ...

became a provincial MNA for the

Liberal Party of Quebec The Quebec Liberal Party (QLP; , PLQ) is a provincial political party in Quebec. It has been independent of the federal Liberal Party of Canada since 1955. The QLP has traditionally supported a form of Quebec federalist ideology with nuan ...

after resigning as mayor of

in 2003. Labbé was the first MLA from the Mégantic (now Frontenac) county to become a minister and the only Union Nationale MLA from the county to do so. After him, Roger Lefebvre and

, both Liberals, also became ministers.Le Soleil (February 19, 2005, P. A-12) ''Laurent Lessard n'est que le troisième ministre issu de Frontenac''

Death

Labbé died in office in Saint-Romuald,

on December 13, 1956.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Labbe, Tancrede 1887 births 1956 deaths Action libérale nationale MNAs Mayors of Thetford Mines Union Nationale (Quebec) MNAs 20th-century mayors of places in Quebec 20th-century members of the National Assembly of Quebec