Joseph-Édouard Turcotte

Joseph-Édouard Turcotte (October 10, 1808 December 20, 1864) was a lawyer and political figure in Canada East.

Joseph-Édouard Turcotte

He was born in Gentilly, Lower Canada in 1808. He studied at the Séminaire de Nicolet. In 1831, he lost his right arm in an accident. Deciding not to pursue a future in the priesthood, he studied law with Elzéar Bédard and was called to the bar in 1836. He practice law at Quebec City and then Trois-Rivières. He became a supporter of Louis-Joseph Papineau and supported the parti patriote. In 1841, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada for Saint-Maurice; he opposed the union of the Canadas. He was forced to resign because he had accepted two government posts, but was reelected in an 1842 by-election; he was defeated in 1844. He was named solicitor general for Canada East in 1847 but was forced to resign in 1848 after two unsuccessful attempts to gain a seat in the assembly. In 1851, Turcotte was elected again in Saint-Maurice; in 1854, he was elected in Maskinongé as a Reformer. He served as mayor of Trois-Rivières from 1857 to 1863. In 1858, he was elected to the assembly for Champlain, now as a member of the parti bleu; in 1861, he was elected in Trois-Rivières. He served as speaker from 1862 to 1863. He was reelected in Trois-Rivières in 1863 and served until his death in Trois-Rivières in 1864.

Turcotte also played an important role in the economic development of the region, including railway links and the founding of a college there. He owned and was of the Journal des Trois-Rivières from 1847 to 1853.

His son Arthur served as a member in the Legislative Assembly of Quebec and his son Gustave-Adolphe-Narcisse was a member of the Canadian House of Commons. His daughter Marie-Louise married Ernest Pacaud, a Quebec lawyer and journalist.

  • "Biography". Dictionnaire des parlementaires du Québec de 1792 à nos jours (in French). National Assembly of Quebec.
  • "Joseph-Édouard Turcotte". Dictionary of Canadian Biography (online ed.). University of Toronto Press. 1979–2016.
Political offices
Preceded by
Act of Union adopted in 1840
MLA, District of Saint-Maurice
18411844
Succeeded by
François Lesieur Desaulniers, Moderate Reformer
Preceded by
Edward Greive, Tory
MLA, District of Trois-Rivières
18451848
Succeeded by
Antoine Polette, Moderate Reformer
Preceded by
Louis-Joseph Papineau, Radical Reformer
MLA, District of Saint-Maurice
18511854
Succeeded by
Louis-Léon Lesieur Desaulniers, Parti bleu
Preceded by
District created in 1853
MLA, District of Maskinongé
18541858
Succeeded by
Louis-Honoré Gauvreau, Parti bleu
Preceded by
J.-B. Lajoie
Mayor of Trois-Rivières
1857–1863
Succeeded by
Louis-Charles Boucher de Niverville
Preceded by
Thomas Marchildon, Parti rouge
MLA, District of Champlain
18581861
Succeeded by
John Jones Ross, Parti bleu
Preceded by
William McDonell Dawson, Tory
MLA, District of Trois-Rivières
18611865
Succeeded by
Louis-Charles Boucher de Niverville, Parti bleu


Preceded by
Henry Smith
Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of the United Provinces of Canada
18621863
Succeeded by
Lewis Wallbridge
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