Bust

The history of Louis-Joseph Papineau is intimately linked to that of Montreal. He dominated the political scene in Lower Canada for nearly 50 years. He was born in Montreal on October 7, 1786. He was the son of Joseph Papineau, a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada. He studied at the Petit Séminaire de Québec and became a lawyer in 1803. He returned to Montreal the following year, and in 1808 was elected Member of Parliament for Kent (Chambly) County, on the south shore of the St. Lawrence, opposite Montreal. Around 1815, he became leader of the Parti canadien (which became the Parti patriote in 1826), then speaker of the Legislative Assembly until 1838. He railed against discrimination against French-speaking people while promoting the autonomy of Lower Canada’s political institutions, and opposed British domination. He became an important political leader. In 1823, his opposition to the proposed union of Lower and Upper Canada won him a victory. Elected in 1834, he pressured the British government to undertake reforms in favor of French Canadians. The demands of the Patriote Party he led in the Ninety-two Resolutions were rejected by Great Britain in 1837. The ensuing troubles of 1837-1838 were the result of a social, political and economic crisis. After the defeat of the Patriotes at Saint-Charles-sur-Richelieu, Papineau fled to Albany in the United States, then to France in 1839. Returning to Canada in 1845, he settled in Montebello, then was elected Member of Parliament for the riding of Saint-Maurice from 1848 to 1854. He opposed the Act of Union, advocating instead annexation to the United States. He formed the Parti rouge with young nationalists, but decided to leave politics in 1854. He settled in Montebello, where he died on September 25, 1871.