Honoré Mercier
Encyclopedia
Honoré Mercier was a lawyer, journalist and politician in Quebec
, Canada
. He was the ninth Premier of Quebec
from January 27, 1887 to December 21, 1891, as leader of the Parti National
or Quebec Liberal Party (PLQ).
, studied at the Jesuit College Sainte-Marie in Montreal
and was called to the Bar of Quebec in April 1865. As the age of 22, Mercier became the editor of Le Courrier de St-Hyacinthe newspaper. He opposed the Confederation
project as early as 1864, believing that it would be detrimental to French Canadian
s.
Mercier was Lomer Gouin
's father-in-law and is an ancestor of Thomas Mulcair
, the current member of Parliament for the Montreal riding of Outremont
.
candidate in the 1872 election
. He became Member of the House of Commons
for the district of Rouville
. He did not run for re-election in the 1874 election
. In the 1878 election
, Mercier was candidate in the district of St. Hyacinthe. He was defeated by the Louis Tellier
, his Conservative
opponent.
of Premier
Henri-Gustave Joly de Lotbinière
and served in that position for less than a year. He won a by-election
and became Member of the Legislative Assembly
for the district of Saint-Hyacinthe
. He was re-elected in the 1881
and 1886
elections and won another by-election in 1887.
He left an impact on a later leader by the name of Henri Bourassa
. He strongly opposed the execution of Louis Riel
in 1885; this event helped him win popular support, and the Quebec Conservative Party lost support because its federal counterparts had ordered Riel's execution.
Seizing the opportunity to build a coalition with dissident Conservatives, Mercier revived the "Parti National" name for the 1886 Quebec provincial election
, and won a majority of seats. However, the coalition consisted of mostly Liberals and only a few Conservatives, so the "Liberal" name was soon reinstituted. The Conservatives, reduced to a minority in the Legislative Assembly
, clung to power for a few more months, but Mercier became Premier of Quebec in 1887.
With his strong nationalist stance, Mercier was very much a precursor of later nationalist premiers in future decades who confronted the federal government and tried to win more power for Quebec. He promoted contacts with francophone
s in other parts of North America outside of Quebec including Western Canada
and New England
. Those francophones had not yet been assimilated into the English-Canadian or American culture to the extent they would be in the future. Mercier promoted reform, economic development, Catholicism, and the French language. He won popularity but also made enemies. He was returned to the legislature as the Member for the district of Bonaventure
and his party won the 1890 election
with an increased majority.
after a report concluded that his government had diverted public funds. He lost the 1892 election
, and gave up the party leadership to Félix-Gabriel Marchand
. He was brought to trial later that year and found not guilty when a second report concluded differently on the matter. However, his health had greatly deteriorated and his political career was over. He died in 1894 at the age of 54, and was interred in the Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery
in Montreal, Quebec.
and became premier in 1887 after the minority government
fell, won the 1890 election
and was dismissed from office in 1891 and lost the 1892 election
.
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....
, Canada
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...
. He was the ninth Premier of Quebec
Premier of Quebec
The Premier of Quebec is the first minister of the Canadian province of Quebec. The Premier is the province's head of government and his title is Premier and President of the Executive Council....
from January 27, 1887 to December 21, 1891, as leader of the Parti National
Parti National (Quebec)
The Parti National was the name taken by the Liberal Party of Quebec, Canada, under the premiership of Honoré Mercier.-Origin and beliefs:It was founded on November 17, 1885, the day following the execution of Métis Leader Louis Riel. Many French-speaking Catholics resented the way the federal...
or Quebec Liberal Party (PLQ).
Early background
Mercier was born in St-Athanase, Lower CanadaLower Canada
The Province of Lower Canada was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence...
, studied at the Jesuit College Sainte-Marie in 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...
and was called to the Bar of Quebec in April 1865. As the age of 22, Mercier became the editor of Le Courrier de St-Hyacinthe newspaper. He opposed the Confederation
Canadian Confederation
Canadian Confederation was the process by which the federal Dominion of Canada was formed on July 1, 1867. On that day, three British colonies were formed into four Canadian provinces...
project as early as 1864, believing that it would be detrimental to French Canadian
French Canadian
French Canadian or Francophone Canadian, , generally refers to the descendents of French colonists who arrived in New France in the 17th and 18th centuries...
s.
Mercier was Lomer Gouin
Lomer Gouin
Sir Jean Lomer Gouin, PC, KCMG was a Canadian politician.-Biography:He was born in Grondines, Quebec and served as 13th Premier of the Canadian province of Quebec, as a Cabinet minister in the federal government of Canada, and as the 15th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec.On May 24, 1888, he married...
's father-in-law and is an ancestor of Thomas Mulcair
Thomas Mulcair
Thomas J. "Tom" Mulcair is a Canadian lawyer, university professor, and politician. He is the federal Member of Parliament for Outremont, Quebec, Canada, and currently holds a seat in the New Democratic Party of Canada...
, the current member of Parliament for the Montreal riding of Outremont
Outremont (electoral district)
Outremont is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1935 to 1949, and since 1968...
.
Member of Parliament
In 1871, he was instrumental in creating the short-lived Parti National. Mercier successfully ran as a LiberalLiberal 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...
candidate in the 1872 election
Canadian federal election, 1872
The Canadian federal election of 1872 was held from July 20 to October 12, 1872, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 2nd Parliament of Canada. Prime Minister Sir John A...
. He became Member of the 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...
for the district of Rouville
Rouville (electoral district)
Rouville was a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1867 to 1917.It was abolished in 1914 when it was merged into St...
. He did not run for re-election in the 1874 election
Canadian federal election, 1874
The Canadian federal election of 1874 was held on January 22, 1874, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 3rd Parliament of Canada. Sir John A...
. In the 1878 election
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...
, Mercier was candidate in the district of St. Hyacinthe. He was defeated by the Louis Tellier
Louis Tellier
Louis Tellier was a Canadian lawyer, politician, and judge.-Biography:Born in Berthier-en-Haut, Canada East, the son of Zephirin and Luce Tellier, Tellier completed his classical education at Joliette College in Joliette, Quebec. He studied law with Hon. Louis François Georges Baby, Joliette, and...
, his Conservative
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...
opponent.
Provincial politics
In 1879, Mercier was appointed Solicitor General of Quebec in the CabinetExecutive Council of Quebec
The Executive Council of Quebec is the cabinet of the government of Quebec, Canada....
of Premier
Premier of Quebec
The Premier of Quebec is the first minister of the Canadian province of Quebec. The Premier is the province's head of government and his title is Premier and President of the Executive Council....
Henri-Gustave Joly de Lotbinière
Henri-Gustave Joly de Lotbinière
Sir Henri-Gustave Joly de Lotbinière, served as the fourth Premier of the Canadian province of Quebec, a federal Cabinet minister, and the seventh Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia.- Early years :...
and served in that position for less than a year. He won 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....
and became Member of the Legislative Assembly
Legislative Assembly of Quebec
The Legislative Assembly of Quebec was the name of the lower house of Quebec's legislature until 1968, when it was renamed the National Assembly of Quebec. At the same time, the upper house of the legislature, the Legislative Council, was abolished...
for the district of Saint-Hyacinthe
Saint-Hyacinthe (provincial electoral district)
Saint-Hyacinthe is a provincial electoral riding in the province of Quebec, Canada. Located in the Montérégie region, the riding includes the city of Saint-Hyacinthe as well as the municipalities of Saint-Damase, Saint-Dominique and Saint-Liboire...
. He was re-elected in the 1881
Quebec general election, 1881
The Quebec general election of 1881 was held on December 2, 1881 to elect members of the 5th Legislative Assembly for the Province of Quebec, Canada...
and 1886
Quebec general election, 1886
The Quebec general election of 1886 on October 14, 1886 to elect members of the 6th Legislative Assembly for the Province of Quebec, Canada. The Parti libéral du Québec, led by Honoré Mercier, won a majority of seats against the Parti conservateur du Québec, led by John Jones Ross.The...
elections and won another by-election in 1887.
He left an impact on a later leader by the name of Henri Bourassa
Party leader
He became the leader of the PLQ in 1883. A practising lawyer, from 1885 to 1887 he was President of the Bar of MontrealBar of Montreal
The Bar of Montreal is the bar association for lawyers in the city of Montreal, Canada. . It has it beginnings in 1693 when, as a Royal Province of the French colonial empire, Canadien lawyers first tried to obtain official recognition but were refused by Governor General of New France Louis de...
. He strongly opposed the execution of Louis Riel
Louis Riel
Louis David Riel was a Canadian politician, a founder of the province of Manitoba, and a political and spiritual leader of the Métis people of the Canadian prairies. He led two resistance movements against the Canadian government and its first post-Confederation Prime Minister, Sir John A....
in 1885; this event helped him win popular support, and the Quebec Conservative Party lost support because its federal counterparts had ordered Riel's execution.
Seizing the opportunity to build a coalition with dissident Conservatives, Mercier revived the "Parti National" name for the 1886 Quebec provincial election
Quebec general election, 1886
The Quebec general election of 1886 on October 14, 1886 to elect members of the 6th Legislative Assembly for the Province of Quebec, Canada. The Parti libéral du Québec, led by Honoré Mercier, won a majority of seats against the Parti conservateur du Québec, led by John Jones Ross.The...
, and won a majority of seats. However, the coalition consisted of mostly Liberals and only a few Conservatives, so the "Liberal" name was soon reinstituted. The Conservatives, reduced to a minority in the Legislative Assembly
Legislative Assembly of Quebec
The Legislative Assembly of Quebec was the name of the lower house of Quebec's legislature until 1968, when it was renamed the National Assembly of Quebec. At the same time, the upper house of the legislature, the Legislative Council, was abolished...
, clung to power for a few more months, but Mercier became Premier of Quebec in 1887.
Premier of Quebec
As Premier of Quebec, Mercier initiated the idea of interprovincial conferences in 1887. He was the first Quebec premier to defend the principle of provincial autonomy within the confederation, campaigning to abolish the federal government's claimed right to veto provincial legislation.With his strong nationalist stance, Mercier was very much a precursor of later nationalist premiers in future decades who confronted the federal government and tried to win more power for Quebec. He promoted contacts with francophone
Francophone
The adjective francophone means French-speaking, typically as primary language, whether referring to individuals, groups, or places. Often, the word is used as a noun to describe a natively French-speaking person....
s in other parts of North America outside of Quebec including Western Canada
Western Canada
Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces and commonly as the West, is a region of Canada that includes the four provinces west of the province of Ontario.- Provinces :...
and New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
. Those francophones had not yet been assimilated into the English-Canadian or American culture to the extent they would be in the future. Mercier promoted reform, economic development, Catholicism, and the French language. He won popularity but also made enemies. He was returned to the legislature as the Member for the district of Bonaventure
Bonaventure (provincial electoral district)
Bonaventure is a provincial electoral district in the Canadian province of Quebec that elects members to the National Assembly of Quebec. It was originally created in 1829.-Geography:...
and his party won the 1890 election
Quebec general election, 1890
The Quebec general election of 1890 was held on June 17, 1890 to elect members of the 7th Legislative Assembly of the Province of Quebec, Canada. The incumbent Quebec Liberal Party, led by Honoré Mercier, was re-elected, defeating the Quebec Conservative Party, led by Louis-Olivier Taillon.A...
with an increased majority.
Political downfall
On December 16, 1891, he was dismissed by Lieutenant Governor Auguste-Réal AngersAuguste-Réal Angers
Sir Auguste-Réal Angers, KCB, PC was a Canadian judge and parliamentarian, holding seats both as a member of the Canadian House of Commons, and as a Senator...
after a report concluded that his government had diverted public funds. He lost the 1892 election
Quebec general election, 1892
In the Quebec general election of 1892 on March 8, 1892 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Quebec, Canada. The incumbent Quebec Conservative Party, led by Charles-Eugène Boucher de Boucherville, defeated the Quebec Liberal Party, led by Honoré Mercier.Mercier had been...
, and gave up the party leadership to Félix-Gabriel Marchand
Félix-Gabriel Marchand
Félix-Gabriel Marchand was a journalist, author, notary and politician in Quebec, Canada. He was the 11th Premier of Quebec from May 24, 1897 to September 25, 1900....
. He was brought to trial later that year and found not guilty when a second report concluded differently on the matter. However, his health had greatly deteriorated and his political career was over. He died in 1894 at the age of 54, and was interred in the Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery
Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery
Founded in 1854, Cimetière Notre-Dame-des-Neiges is a 343-acre cemetery located in the borough of Côte-des-Neiges—Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The entrance and the grounds run along a part of chemin Côte-des-Neiges and up the slopes of Mount Royal...
in Montreal, Quebec.
Legacy
The following landmarks were named to honour Honoré Mercier:- The Mercier Bridge that links the western part of the Island of MontrealIsland of MontrealThe Island of Montreal , in extreme southwestern Quebec, Canada, is located at the confluence of the Saint Lawrence and Ottawa Rivers. It is separated from Île Jésus by the Rivière des Prairies....
with the South Shore; - The town of Mercier, QuebecMercier, QuebecMercier is a town in southwestern Quebec, Canada in the Regional County Municipality Roussillon. It is located on the Châteauguay River, southwest of Montreal. The population as of the Canada 2006 Census was 10,121.-Population:Population trend...
; - Avenue Mercier, located in downtown Shawinigan, QuebecQuebecQuebec 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....
, CanadaCanadaCanada 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...
; - The provincial electoral district of MercierMercier (provincial electoral district)Mercier is a provincial electoral district in Quebec, Canada that elects members to the National Assembly of Quebec. The district is located in Montreal. It is bounded to the north and east by the Canadian Pacific Railway, to the south by Rue Rachel and to the west by Avenue de l'Esplanade. The...
. - The Mercier neighbourhood in MontrealMontrealMontreal 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...
. - An elementary school named Honoré-Mercier in Montreal
- A high school named Honoré-Mercier in Montreal
- A hospital in Saint-Hyacinthe, Québec is named Hôpital Honoré-Mercier.
- Honoré Mercier Boulevard, located in the Quebec cityQuebec CityQuebec , 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...
center.
Elections as party leader
He won a majority of seats in the 1886 electionQuebec general election, 1886
The Quebec general election of 1886 on October 14, 1886 to elect members of the 6th Legislative Assembly for the Province of Quebec, Canada. The Parti libéral du Québec, led by Honoré Mercier, won a majority of seats against the Parti conservateur du Québec, led by John Jones Ross.The...
and became premier in 1887 after the minority government
Minority government
A minority government or a minority cabinet is a cabinet of a parliamentary system formed when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in the parliament but is sworn into government to break a Hung Parliament election result. It is also known as a...
fell, won the 1890 election
Quebec general election, 1890
The Quebec general election of 1890 was held on June 17, 1890 to elect members of the 7th Legislative Assembly of the Province of Quebec, Canada. The incumbent Quebec Liberal Party, led by Honoré Mercier, was re-elected, defeating the Quebec Conservative Party, led by Louis-Olivier Taillon.A...
and was dismissed from office in 1891 and lost the 1892 election
Quebec general election, 1892
In the Quebec general election of 1892 on March 8, 1892 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Quebec, Canada. The incumbent Quebec Conservative Party, led by Charles-Eugène Boucher de Boucherville, defeated the Quebec Liberal Party, led by Honoré Mercier.Mercier had been...
.
See also
- Politics of QuebecPolitics of QuebecThe politics of Quebec are centred on a provincial government resembling that of the other Canadian provinces, namely a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy. The capital of the province is Quebec City, where the Lieutenant Governor, Premier, the legislature, and cabinet reside.The...
- History of QuebecHistory of QuebecQuebec has played a special role in Canadian history; it is the site where French settlers founded the colony of Canada in the 17th and 18th centuries.-Paleoindian Era :...
- Quebec general electionsQuebec general electionsThis article provides a summary of results for the general elections to the Canadian province of Quebecs unicameral legislative body, the National Assembly of Quebec...