Narcisse-Fortunat Belleau

He was born in Quebec City in 1808. He studied at the Petit Séminaire de Québec and went on to article in law, receiving his license to practice in 1832. In 1835, he married Marie-Reine-Josephte, the daughter of Quebec merchant Louis Gauvreau. In 1848, he ran unsuccessfully as a Reformer in Portneuf. In the same year, he was elected to the city council for Quebec and served as mayor from 1850 to 1853. During his term as mayor, a system providing drinking water was installed in the city. He served on the board of the Quebec Bank, later merged with the Royal Bank of Canada, from 1848 to 1893.

In 1852, he was appointed to the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada. He became a Queen's Counsel in 1854. In 1857, he was named speaker of the Legislative Council and so became a member of the Executive Council. He was knighted in 1860. He became premier for Canada East and receiver general in 1865 on the death of Sir Étienne-Paschal Taché and served in that role until Confederation. He was nominated for a seat in the Senate of Canada in 1867 but withdrew when he was named the first Lieutenant Governor of Quebec in July of the same year. He refused a seat in the Senate when he retired from this post in 1873. He was made a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George in 1879.

After politics Belleau continued to sit on the board of the Quebec Bank and took an active role in social functions. He continued to maintain his political influence.[1] He died at Quebec City in 1894 leaving his fortune, which contemporaries estimate between $200,000 and 400,000 to his nephew.

• BELLEAU, Sir NARCISSE-FORTUNAT. "Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 12, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–". biographi.ca. Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 12. Retrieved September 25, 2020.

• "Biography of Narcisse-Fortunat Belleau". Dictionnaire des parlementaires du Québec de 1792 à nos jours (in French). National Assembly of Quebec.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Narcisse-Fortunat Belleau.

• Brassard, Michèle; Hamelin, Jean (1990). "Belleau, Sir Narcisse-Fortunat". In Halpenny, Francess G (ed.). Dictionary of Canadian Biography. XII (1891–1900) (online ed.). University of Toronto Press.
• Narcisse-Fortunat Belleau – Parliament of Canada biography