Alphonse Verville
Encyclopedia
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 and trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
ist.
Born and raised in the Côte-Saint-Paul
Côte-Saint-Paul
Côte-Saint-Paul is a neighbourhood located in the Southwest Borough of Montreal, Quebec, Canada.-History:The concession of côte Saint-Paul was granted by the Sulpician Order, seigneurs of the Island of Montreal, in 1662...
neighbourhood of Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Verville was a plumber by trade. At the age of 18 he moved to Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
and joined the International Plumbers' Union. He returned to Montreal in 1893 and worked to organize plumbers. He became leader of the plumbers' union in Montreal and in 1904 became president of the MTLC, Montreal's Trades and Labour Council. Verville served as president of the Trades and Labour Congress of Canada
Trades and Labour Congress of Canada
The Trades and Labour Congress of Canada was a Canada-wide central federation of trade unions from 1883 to 1956. It was founded at the initiative of the Toronto Trades and Labour Council and the Knights of Labor...
from 1904 to 1910.
Politically, Verville was an early advocate of the trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
movement running their own candidates for political office. 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...
as a Labour candidate in a 1906 by-election
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
in Maisonneuve
Maisonneuve (electoral district)
Maisonneuve was a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1893 to 1935.A "Maisonneuve" riding also existed from 1966 to 1970 when it renamed "Maisonneuve—Rosemont", and from 1976 to 1978 when it was renamed "Hochelaga—Maisonneuve"...
, defeating a Liberal
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...
opponent, and was re-elected as a Labour MP in the 1908
Canadian federal election, 1908
The Canadian federal election of 1908 was held on October 26 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 11th Parliament of Canada. Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier's Liberal Party of Canada was re-elected for a fourth consecutive term in government with a majority government...
and 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:...
s. Upon entering parliament he became a supporter of the Liberals and was often billed as a Liberal-Labour
Liberal-Labour (Canada)
The Liberal-Labour banner has also been used several times by candidates in Canadian elections:In the early twentieth century when the idea of trade unionists running for elected office under their own banner gained ground, several working class candidates on the provincial or federal level were...
MP. In his re-election contests he was supported by the Liberals who ran no candidate of their own against him. In the 1917 federal election caused by the Conscription Crisis of 1917
Conscription Crisis of 1917
The Conscription Crisis of 1917 was a political and military crisis in Canada during World War I.-Background:...
, Verville ran and was elected as a Laurier Liberal in the riding of St-Denis. He remained in the Commons until 1921. After nine years in retirement, he died on 20 June 1930 in Montreal, at the age of 65, following stomach surgery.