Télesphore Fournier, (August 5, 1823 – May 10, 1896) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) 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 ...

politician, lawyer, and judge of the

Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the highest court in the judicial system of Canada. It comprises nine justices, whose decisions are the ultimate application of Canadian law, and grants permission to ...

. Born in Saint-François-de-la-Rivière-du-Sud,

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada (french: province du Bas-Canada) was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence (1791–1841). It covered the southern portion of the current Province of Quebec ...

(now

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is ...

), the son of Guillaume Fournier and Marie-Archange Morin, he was called to the bar in 1846. On July 22, 1857, he married Hermine-Eloïse Demers, and they had nine children: seven daughters and two sons. From 1855 to 1859, he was the co-owner and co-editor of the newspaper, ''Le National de Québec''. In an 1870 by-election, he was acclaimed as a Liberal

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...

in the riding of Bellechasse. He was re-elected in

1872 Events January–March * January 12 – Yohannes IV is crowned Emperor of Ethiopia in Axum, the first ruler crowned in that city in over 500 years. * February 2 – The government of the United Kingdom buys a number of forts o ...

, 1873, and 1875. He held three ministerial positions:

Minister of Inland Revenue The Minister of Inland Revenue is the political office of Minister for the department of Inland Revenue which is responsible for the collection of taxes. "Minister of Inland Revenue" is a title held by politicians in different countries. the off ...

(1873–1874),

Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada The minister of justice and attorney general of Canada () is a dual-role portfolio in the Canadian Cabinet. The officeholder in the role of Minister of Justice () serves as the minister of the Crown responsible for the Department of Justice a ...

(1874–1875), and

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(1875). He tabled the bill to create the

in February 1875. At that period of time, it was possible to be a Member of Parliament and a Member of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Quebec (pre-1968 designation of the (

Quebec National Assembly The National Assembly of Quebec (officially in french: link=no, Assemblée nationale du Québec) is the legislative body of the province of Quebec in Canada. Legislators are called MNAs (Members of the National Assembly; french: link=no, déput� ...

) (MLA). He was an MLA in the riding of Montmagny from 1871 to 1873. He was appointed as one of the first judges of the Supreme Court of Canada on September 30, 1875. Four years later, his wife died, and his eldest daughter then kept house. He retired on September 12, 1895, and died on May 10, 1896, at the age of 72. The house he lived in from 1877 until 1882 is now the Embassy of the Republic of Croatia in Ottawa.

Electoral record

References

*
Supreme Court of Canada Biography
* *
February 1875
House of Commons Debates on the 1875 Statute purporting to Establish the Supreme Court of Canada, excerpted from Debates of the House of Commons of the Dominion of Canada. Reported and Edited by A.M. Burgess, Vol. I.--Session 1875. Ottawa. Printed by C. W. Mitchell, "Free Press" Office, Elgin Street. 1875.
"GeneaNET - Télesphore Fournier"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fournier, Telesphore 1823 births 1896 deaths Postmasters General of Canada Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada Liberal Party of Canada MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Quebec Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Quebec Liberal Party MNAs Lawyers in Quebec French Quebecers