Désiré Olivier Bourbeau (September 21, 1834 – December 21, 1900) was a politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

 and merchant

Merchant

A merchant is a businessperson who trades in commodities that were produced by others, in order to earn a profit.Merchants can be one of two types:# A wholesale merchant operates in the chain between producer and retail merchant...

.

The son of L. Bourbeau and Édesse Gauvreau, Bourbeau established himself as a merchant in Victoriaville. He married M.B. Bouchard. Bourbeau was a director of the Arthabaska Building Society, the Arthabaska Agricultural Society and the Mutual Insurance Company. 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 1877 in a by-election as a Member of the Conservative Party

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...

 to represent the riding

Electoral district (Canada)

An electoral district in Canada, also known as a constituency or a riding, is a geographical constituency upon which Canada's representative democracy is based...

 of Drummond—Arthabaska

Drummond—Arthabaska

Drummond—Arthabaska was a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1867 to 1968.It was created by the British North America Act of 1867...

. He was re-elected in 1878

Canadian federal election, 1878

The Canadian federal election of 1878 was held on September 17 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 4th Parliament of Canada. It resulted in the end of Prime Minister Alexander Mackenzie's Liberal government after only one term in office. Canada suffered an economic depression...

 and 1882

Canadian federal election, 1882

The Canadian federal election of 1882 was held on June 20, 1882 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 5th Parliament of Canada.Prime Minister Sir John A...

. Besides his federal political career, he was also mayor

Mayor

In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....

 of Victoriaville, Quebec

Quebec

Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

.