Background

He was born in Quebec City

Quebec City

Quebec , 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...

 on November 14, 1898. He was an attorney and a professor. He was on active military service during World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 and World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

.

Member of the legislature

Rivard unsuccessfully ran as a Union Nationale candidate 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...

 in the district of Québec-Centre in 1944

Quebec general election, 1944

The Quebec general election of 1944 was held on August 8, 1944 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Quebec, Canada. The Union Nationale, led by former premier Maurice Duplessis, defeated the incumbent Quebec Liberal Party, led by Adélard Godbout...

. He was elected in the riding of Montmagny

Montmagny (provincial electoral district)

Montmagny was a provincial electoral district in the province of Quebec, Canada. Formed in 1867, it was merged with L'Islet in 1972 to form Montmagny-L'Islet.-Members of Legislative Assembly:* Louis-Henri Blais, Liberal...

 in 1948

Quebec general election, 1948

The Quebec general election of 1948 was held on July 28, 1948 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Quebec, Canada. The incumbent Union Nationale, led by Maurice Duplessis, won re-election, defeating the Quebec Liberal Party, led by Adélard Godbout.This was the third time ...

. He was re-elected in 1952

Quebec general election, 1952

The Quebec general election of 1952 was held on July 16, 1952 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Quebec, Canada. The incumbent Union Nationale, led by Maurice Duplessis, won re-election, defeating the Quebec Liberal Party, led by Georges-Émile Lapalme.This was the...

 and 1956

Quebec general election, 1956

The Quebec general election of 1956 was held on June 20, 1956 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Quebec, Canada. The incumbent Union Nationale, led by Maurice Duplessis, won re-election, defeating the Quebec Liberal Party, led by Georges-Émile Lapalme.This was the fifth and final...

.

Cabinet Member

He was appointed to 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....

 Maurice Duplessis

Maurice Duplessis

Maurice Le Noblet Duplessis served as the 16th Premier of the Canadian province of Quebec from 1936 to 1939 and 1944 to 1959. A founder and leader of the highly conservative Union Nationale party, he rose to power after exposing the misconduct and patronage of Liberal Premier Louis-Alexandre...

's Cabinet

Executive Council of Quebec

The Executive Council of Quebec is the cabinet of the government of Quebec, Canada....

 in 1948, serving as Minister without Portfolio

Minister without Portfolio

A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister that does not head a particular ministry...

, Solicitor General from 1950 to 1959 and Minister of Transportation and Communications from 1954 to 1960. Duplessis, who has often been accused of having authoritarian ways, is believed to have once told Rivard in public, "Toé, tais-toé!" (You hush!)

Rivard lost re-election by a margin of nine votes in 1960

Quebec general election, 1960

The Quebec general election of 1960 was held on June 22, 1960 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Quebec, Canada. It was one of the most significant elections in Quebec history, rivalled perhaps only by the 1976 general election...

.

Footnotes