Albert Sévigny
Encyclopedia
Queen's Privy Council for Canada
The Queen's Privy Council for Canada ), sometimes called Her Majesty's Privy Council for Canada or simply the Privy Council, is the full group of personal consultants to the monarch of Canada on state and constitutional affairs, though responsible government requires the sovereign or her viceroy,...
(December 31, 1881 – May 14, 1961) was a Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
politician.
Sévigny opened a law practice in Quebec City
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
in 1905. Two years later, he was a candidate for the Quebec Conservative Party in a provincial by-election
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
, but was defeated. He was elected to the Canadian House of Commons
Canadian House of Commons
The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...
in the 1911 federal election
Canadian federal election, 1911
The Canadian federal election of 1911 was held on September 21 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 12th Parliament of Canada.-Summary:...
. His election was faciliatated by an informal alliance between the Conservatives
Conservative Party of Canada (historical)
The Conservative Party of Canada has gone by a variety of names over the years since Canadian Confederation. Initially known as the "Liberal-Conservative Party", it dropped "Liberal" from its name in 1873, although many of its candidates continued to use this name.As a result of World War I and the...
and the Nationalists led by Henri Bourassa
Henri Bourassa
Joseph-Napoléon-Henri Bourassa was a French Canadian political leader and publisher. He is seen by many as an ideological father of Canadian nationalism....
because of Sevigny's sympathy with Bourassa's views.
In Parliament, Sevigny became a supporter of Canadian participation in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
despite the strong opposition of most Quebecers, and became a staunch Conservative. He was appointed Deputy Speaker in 1915, and in 1916, he became Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons
Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons
The Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada is the presiding officer of the lower house of the Parliament of Canada and is elected at the beginning of each new parliament by fellow Members of Parliament...
.
Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Canada
The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
Robert Borden
Robert Borden
Sir Robert Laird Borden, PC, GCMG, KC was a Canadian lawyer and politician. He served as the eighth Prime Minister of Canada from October 10, 1911 to July 10, 1920, and was the third Nova Scotian to hold this office...
was facing an increasing divisive crisis over conscription
Conscription Crisis of 1917
The Conscription Crisis of 1917 was a political and military crisis in Canada during World War I.-Background:...
with the country divided between English Canadians who supported the measure and French-Canadians who fervently opposed it. In early 1917, Borden asked Sevigny to leave the Speaker's chair and join the Cabinet to help the government persuade Quebecers of the government's case.
Sévigny was appointed Minister of Inland Revenue
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 leaders in different countries...
, and was required by the laws of the time to resign his seat and run in a by-election
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
. He was re-elected by a margin of only 257 votes.
In June, Borden introduced conscription
Conscription
Conscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...
and, of the French Canadian Members of Parliament, only three voted for the conscription bill, including Sévigny.
Borden formed a Union government
Unionist Party (Canada)
The Unionist Party was formed in 1917 by Members of Parliament in Canada who supported the "Union government" formed by Sir Robert Borden during the First World War....
with dissident Liberals
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
and called a general election in 1917
Canadian federal election, 1917
The 1917 Canadian federal election was held on December 17, 1917, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 13th Parliament of Canada. Described by historian Michael Bliss as the "most bitter election in Canadian history", it was fought mainly over the issue of conscription...
on the conscription issue. The country divided largely along linguistic lines: the Conservative candidates were wiped out in Quebec in a rout that cost Sévigny his seat. Borden's coalition dominated the election in English Canada, however, and he was returned with a strong majority.
In 1921, the Conservative government appointed Sévigny to the Quebec Superior Court
Quebec Superior Court
Quebec Superior Court is the highest trial Court in the Province of Quebec, Canada. It consists of 144 judges who are appointed by the federal government.Chief Justices : [partial listing]* Edward Bowen...
on which he served for 39 years, becoming Associate Chief Justice in 1933 and Chief Justice
Chief Justice
The Chief Justice in many countries is the name for the presiding member of a Supreme Court in Commonwealth or other countries with an Anglo-Saxon justice system based on English common law, such as the Supreme Court of Canada, the Constitutional Court of South Africa, the Court of Final Appeal of...
in 1942.