Joseph-Édouard Turcotte

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

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.

External links

"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 1841–1844	Succeeded by François Lesieur Desaulniers, Moderate Reformer
Preceded by Edward Greive, Tory	MLA, District of Trois-Rivières 1845–1848	Succeeded by Antoine Polette, Moderate Reformer
Preceded by Louis-Joseph Papineau, Radical Reformer	MLA, District of Saint-Maurice 1851–1854	Succeeded by Louis-Léon Lesieur Desaulniers, Parti bleu
Preceded by District created in 1853	MLA, District of Maskinongé 1854–1858	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 1858–1861	Succeeded by John Jones Ross, Parti bleu
Preceded by William McDonell Dawson, Tory	MLA, District of Trois-Rivières 1861–1865	Succeeded by Louis-Charles Boucher de Niverville, Parti bleu

Preceded by Henry Smith	Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of the United Provinces of Canada 1862–1863	Succeeded by Lewis Wallbridge