Louis-Philippe Brodeur

Louis-Philippe Brodeur, PC QC baptised Louis-Joseph-Alexandre Brodeur (August 21, 1862 – January 2, 1924) was a Canadian journalist, lawyer, politician, federal Cabinet minister, Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada, and puisne justice of the Supreme Court of Canada.[1][2]

The Honourable

Louis-Philippe Brodeur

P.C., Q.C.
9th Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada
In office
February 6, 1901 – January 18, 1904
MonarchEdward VII
Governor GeneralThe Earl of Minto
Prime MinisterSir Wilfrid Laurier
Preceded byThomas Bain
Succeeded byNapoléon Antoine Belcourt
Member of the Canadian Parliament
for Rouville
In office
March 5, 1891 – September 21, 1911
Preceded byGeorge Auguste Gigault
Succeeded byRodolphe Lemieux
Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada
In office
August 11, 1911 – October 9, 1923
Nominated bySir Wilfrid Laurier
Preceded byDésiré Girouard
Succeeded byArthur Cyrille Albert Malouin
13th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec
In office
October 31, 1923 – January 2, 1924
MonarchGeorge V
Governor GeneralThe Viscount Byng of Vimy
PremierLouis-Alexandre Taschereau
Preceded byCharles Fitzpatrick
Succeeded byNarcisse Pérodeau
Personal details
Born(1862-08-21)August 21, 1862
Belœil, Canada East
DiedJanuary 2, 1924(1924-01-02) (aged 61)
Spencer Wood, Sillery
NationalityCanadian
Political partyLiberal
Spouse(s)
Emma Brillon
​
​
(m. 1887; Brodeur's death in 1924)​
Children5
Alma materUniversité Laval à Montréal
Occupationjournalist, lawyer
Professionpolitician

Life and career

Born in Belœil, Quebec, he was first elected to the House of Commons of Canada in the 1891 election as Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) for Rouville, Quebec. He represented the riding continuously until his retirement prior to the 1911 election.

Brodeur was a firm supporter of Sir Wilfrid Laurier and came from a Rouges family. His father fought in the Lower Canada Rebellion of 1837, and his maternal grandfather was killed in the Rebellion's Battle of Saint-Charles.

As a young man, Brodeur studied law, graduating in 1884 with an LL.B. from the Université Laval in Montréal.[2][1] He worked as a young lawyer with Honoré Mercier, before establishing his own law firm of Dandurand and Brodeuer with Raoul Dandurand. He also engaged in journalism for Liberal newspapers such as la Patrie and L'Électeur before becoming editor of Le Soir. He was first elected to the Canadian House of Commons at the age of 29. After the Liberals won the 1896 election, Brodeur was appointed deputy speaker. He was appointed as a Queen's Counsel in 1899. He became Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada following the 1900 election.

Brodeur c. 1923

In 1904, he was appointed to the Laurier Cabinet as Minister of Inland Revenue where he introduced antitrust legislation to protect tobacco farmers from the monopolistic practices of the American Tobacco Company.

In 1906, he was promoted to Minister of Marine and Fisheries and reorganized the Montreal Harbours Commission and instituted reforms in the department to reduce patronage and corruption.

Brodeur was a member of the Canadian delegation to the 1907 Imperial Conference in London, and also helped negotiate a trade treaty with France.

In 1910, he became Minister of the Naval Service and was responsible for introducing legislation to create the Canadian Navy. This signified a move towards Canadian independence from Britain. It was opposed by the Conservative Party, which preferred Canada's participation in the British Navy. By the end of his term, the new Navy consisted of 233 sailors and two cruisers, one on each coast. The policy of creating a Canadian Navy was also opposed by French-Canadian nationalists such as Henri Bourassa who feared that the Canadian Navy would only be used as a device to engage Canada in British wars.

Supreme Court of Canada

Prior to the 1911 election, Brodeur retired from politics and was appointed by Laurier to a seat on the Supreme Court of Canada. He retired from the court in 1923 to accept an appointment as the 13th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec. Brodeur died on the 2nd of January 1924, at the Lieutenant Governor's official residence of Spencer Wood in Sillery.[1][2]

Family
Madame Emma Brodeur c. 1900 by William James Topley

Louis-Philippe Brodeur married Emma Brillon, daughter of J. R. (Joseph-Régnier) Brillon, of Belœil, P.Q., in June 1887.[3][2] Their son, Victor, attained the rank of Rear Admiral in the Royal Canadian Navy. The École Victor-Brodeur in Esquimalt, British Columbia, is named after him. Victor's son Nigel attained the rank of Vice Admiral.

Archives

There are Louis-Philippe Brodeur fonds at Library and Archives Canada[4] and Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec.[5]

References
  1. Castonguay, René (2005). "Brodeur, Louis-Philippe (baptized Louis-Joseph-Alexandre; Philippe)". In Cook, Ramsay; Bélanger, Réal (eds.). Dictionary of Canadian Biography. XV (1921–1930) (online ed.). University of Toronto Press.
  2. "National Assembly of Québec : Louis-Philippe Brodeur". assnat.qc.ca (in French). Retrieved October 24, 2019.
  3. Morgan, Henry James, ed. (1903). Types of Canadian Women and of Women who are or have been Connected with Canada. Toronto: Williams Briggs. p. 40. LCCN 06010811. OCLC 14026725. OL 7115470M.
  4. "Louis-Philippe Brodeur fonds, Library and Archives Canada". Retrieved August 31, 2020.
  5. "Louis-Philippe Brodeur fonds, Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec". Retrieved August 31, 2020.
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