Fleuri Perron (February 4, 1866 - August 1931) was a businessman, politician, and mayor of St. Albert, Alberta

St. Albert, Alberta

St. Albert is a suburban city in Alberta, located northwest of Edmonton, on the Sturgeon River. It was originally settled as a Métis community, and is now the second largest city in the Edmonton area. St...

.

Early life

Perron was born in Portneuf

Portneuf

Portneuf may refer to:* Portneuf Regional County Municipality, Quebec* Portneuf, Quebec, a town in the Portneuf RCM* Portneuf , in Quebec* Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, a federal electoral district in Quebec...

 in 1866, and moved to Egg Lake in what is now Sturgeon County, Alberta

Sturgeon County, Alberta

Sturgeon County is a municipal district in Alberta's Edmonton Capital Region, Canada.It begins at the north end of Edmonton, with 97th street turning into Highway 28. It extends east to Fort Saskatchewan and west to Calahoo. It is located in Division No. 11....

 in February 1883, after hearing Bishop Vital-Justin Grandin

Vital-Justin Grandin

Father Vital-Justin Grandin was a Roman Catholic priest and bishop who served the Church in the western parts of what is now Canada both before and after Confederation.-Early life:...

 encouraging francophones to move west. In 1892 he married Lina Laliberté, and soon after moved to St. Albert.

Business career

In 1896, Perron acquired the Windsor Hotel in St. Albert, which he operated for four years before selling it. In 1900, he opened a brick factory and purchased a general store which he operated with Cheri Hebert until 1907, when he bought out Hebert.

In 1912, he re-entered the hotel business by becoming President of the Royal Hotel Company Limited, which opened the Royal Hotel in 1913 to replace another hotel that had burned down. Though the hotel was "the best north of Edmonton

Edmonton

Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...

, the advent of Prohibition

Prohibition

Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...

 in 1915 put an end to its viability, and it was soon closed and demolished.

In the meantime, in 1914, he and Hebert had acquired a paddleboat called the Ste. Theresa which they used to offer recreational trips on the Sturgeon River

Sturgeon River

- In Canada :*Sturgeon River , which flows into the North Saskatchewan River northeast of Fort Saskatchewan*Sturgeon River in northern Manitoba and Ontario...

 and Big Lake

Big Lake

-Communities:Canada* Big Lakes, AlbertaUnited States* Big Lake, Alaska* Big Lake, Minnesota* Big Lake, Missouri* Big Lake, Texas* Big Lake, Washington-Lakes:Canada* Big Lake * Big Lake, Nova ScotiaPoland...

. When water levels in the river fell too low for the boat to operate, it was relocated to Lac Ste. Anne, where it was eventually destroyed in a storm.

In 1919 his general store was destroyed in a fire, and he opened a butcher shop. He operated this until the mid-twenties, when he moved to California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 with his son, Alex Perron, to attempt to go into business there. His attempts were unsuccessful, and he returned to St. Albert shortly thereafter. Upon his return, he rented another general store which he operated until his death.

Public service

Though he had been one of many St. Albert residents to sign a petition in 1898 protesting the previously unincorporated community's incorporation as a village, Perron was nevertheless elected to the first St. Albert Town Council in 1904 as a councillor. He served in this capacity until 1907, when he was elected mayor. He served one one year term as mayor before leaving political life all together.

In 1906, Perron became the first Lieutenant of the St. Albert Troop of Squadron D, of the St. Albert Mounted Rifles. In 1912, he co-founded the St. Albert Chamber of Commerce, and served as its first Vice President. He was also the first President of the Alberta French Canadian Association.

Family, Death, and Legacy

Fleuri and Lina Perron had nine children, six of whom survived infancy. His son, Alex Perron himself served as a mayor of St. Albert. Another son, Eugene, married Evelyn Hogan, daughter of Michael Hogan, the longest serving mayor in St. Albert's history.

Fleuri Perron died in 1931. Perron Street, a major street in St. Albert's downtown, is named in his honour. It was renamed in 1967 from Piron Street. The town council at the time claimed that it was only correcting a misspelling and that the road had always been intended to be named in Perron's honour, but an alternative theory states that it had been originally named in honour of France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

's Piron family, which had donated the bells for the St. Albert mission.