Lawrence Arthur Dumoulin Cannon (April 28, 1877 – December 25, 1939) 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...

 lawyer

Lawyer

A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...

, politician, and Puisne Justice

Puisne Justice

A Puisne Justice or Puisne Judge is the title for a regular member of a Court. This is distinguished from the head of the Court who is known as the Chief Justice or Chief Judge. The term is used almost exclusively in common law jurisdictions such as England, Australia, Kenya, Canada, Sri Lanka,...

 of the Supreme Court of Canada

Supreme Court of Canada

The Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court of Canada and is the final court of appeals in the Canadian justice system. The court grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants each year to appeal decisions rendered by provincial, territorial and federal appellate courts, and its decisions...

.

Born in Arthabaska, Quebec

Arthabaska Regional County Municipality, Quebec

Arthabaska Regional County Municipality is located in Central Quebec. The regional county municipality seat is Victoriaville. A report released in early 2006 by Maclean's magazine listed Arthabaska as the worst place in Canada for murder per capita but, by 2008, it had fallen to 21st...

, the son of Lawrence John Cannon

Lawrence John Cannon

Lawrence John Cannon was a Canadian lawyer and judge.Born in Quebec City, Canada East, the son of Lawrence Ambrose Cannon and Mary Jane Cary, his godfather was Augustin-Norbert Morin. Cannon studied at the Séminaire de Québec and the Séminaire de Nicolet before receiving a law degree from the...

 and Aurélie Dumoulin, he received a Bachelor of Arts

Bachelor of Arts

A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 degree in 1896 from Université Laval

Université Laval

Laval University is the oldest centre of education in Canada and was the first institution in North America to offer higher education in French...

. In 1899 he received an LL.L

Bachelor of Civil Law

Bachelor of Civil Law is the name of various degrees in law conferred by English-language universities. Historically, it originated as a postgraduate degree in the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, but many universities now offer the BCL as an undergraduate degree...

 also from Université Laval. He was called to the Bar in 1899 and practiced law. His brother was Lucien Cannon

Lucien Cannon

Lucien Cannon, was a Canadian lawyer and politician.Born in Arthabaska, Quebec, the son of Lawrence John Cannon and Aurélie Dumoulin, he studied law at the Laval University and was called to the Quebec Bar in 1910. His brother was Lawrence Arthur Dumoulin Cannon, a puisne judge of the Supreme...

, a politician and cabinet minister.

In 1908, he was elected to the City council of Quebec City. In 1916

Quebec general election, 1916

The Quebec general election of 1916 was held on May 22, 1916 to elect members of the 14th Legislative Assembly of the Province of Quebec, Canada...

, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Quebec

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 riding of Québec-Centre as a Liberal. He was re-elected in 1919

Quebec general election, 1919

The Quebec general election of 1919 was held on June 23, 1919 to elect members of the 15th Legislative Assembly of Quebec, Canada. The incumbent Quebec Liberal Party, led by Lomer Gouin, was re-elected, defeating the Quebec Conservative Party, led by Arthur Sauvé.Gouin, who had held office since...

 but was defeated in 1923

Quebec general election, 1923

The Quebec general election of 1923 was held on February 5, 1923 to elect members of the 16th Legislative Assembly of Quebec, Canada. The incumbent Quebec Liberal Party, led by Louis-Alexandre Taschereau, was re-elected, defeating the Quebec Conservative Party, led by Arthur Sauvé.It was the first...

.

He returned to private practice until he was appointed to the Court of King's Bench of Quebec in 1927. He was appointed to the Supreme Court in 1930 and served until his death in 1939.

Cannon helped create a powerful family legacy. The extended Cannon family would go on to have strong regional and national political influence in Canada for decades, members serving in positions as lawyers, judges, Supreme Court judges, senators, ministers of defence, solicitors general, and Members of Parliament.

His great-nephew Lawrence Cannon

Lawrence Cannon

Lawrence Cannon, PC is a Canadian politician from Quebec and Prime Minister Stephen Harper's former Quebec lieutenant. On October 30, 2008 he was sworn in as Minister of Foreign Affairs...

 was a Member of Parliament from 2006 to 2011, serving in Prime Minister Stephen Harper

Stephen Harper

Stephen Joseph Harper is the 22nd and current Prime Minister of Canada and leader of the Conservative Party. Harper became prime minister when his party formed a minority government after the 2006 federal election...

's cabinet.

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