Joseph-Aldric Ouimet
Encyclopedia
Joseph-Aldric Ouimet, PC
(baptised Aldric) (May 20, 1848 – May 12, 1916) was a Canadian
parliamentarian.
Ouimet was first elected to the Canadian House of Commons
in an 1873 by-election
as Member of Parliament
for Laval
, Quebec
. He was a Liberal-Conservative and supporter of the government of Sir John A. Macdonald
.
After being educated in a seminary, and a brief career as a journalist, Ouimet became a lawyer. He was first elected to the House of Commons at the age of 25. His advocacy of the rights of French-Canadians was challenged by the Conservative government's attitude to Louis Riel
. Following the First Riel Rebellion, Ouimet argued for Riel to be pardon
ed, and, in 1875, voted against a Conservative motion to expel Riel from the seat in the House of Commons to which he had been elected.
With the beginning of the Second Riel Rebellion in 1885, Minister of Militia Adolphe Caron asked Ouimet to raise a regiment from Montreal
to join in the suppression of the uprising. Ouimet raised three hundred men, and led his regiment as its Lieutenant-Colonel. He was put under the command of Thomas Bland Strange
who rejected Ouimet's proposal to negotiate safe passage for Riel.
Strange sent Ouimet to Ottawa to secure supplies resulting in newspapers accusing him of desertion. He returned west and was placed in command of Fort Edmonton
.
Despite fighting against the rebels, Ouimet opposed the execution of Riel when he returned to Ottawa. Ouimet's pleas fell on deaf ears, and, despite his efforts, he was condemned by French-Canadians for having helped put down the rebellion.
Ouimet voted in the House of Commons for a Liberal
motion to censure
the government for executing Riel.
The execution of Riel seriously damaged the Conservative Party in Quebec
, and was one of the key factors in the party's decline and eventual loss of power. In an attempt at conciliation, Prime Minister
Macdonald nominated Ouimet for the position of Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons
following the 1887 election
.
Because of the custom of alternating between English and French Speakers following each general election, Ouimet returned to the backbench following the 1891 election
. Macdonald died in June 1891, and his longtime Quebec lieutenant
, Sir Hector Langevin, was forced to resign from Cabinet due to a corruption scandal in August. In January 1892, Prime Minister Sir John Abbott made Ouimet the senior minister from Quebec, and appointed him to Langevin's old job as Minister of Public Works
. Ouimet stayed in that position under the succession of Prime Minister
s who attempted to keep the Conservative government together. He also served as Acting Minister of Agriculture
and Acting Secretary of State for Canada
under Sir Mackenzie Bowell
. Bowell faced a caucus
revolt over his handling of the Manitoba Schools Question
and was forced to resign. The issue split the party as English Protestant Conservatives rejected Bowell's proposal to create a new Catholic School Board in Manitoba
.
With the fall of Bowell's cabinet, the opposition of Tory MPs to French Catholic rights in Manitoba further hurt the party's prospects among Catholic
Quebecers. Perhaps sensing that the Conservative government was doomed and that his prospects of keeping his seat were dim as Quebecers turned against the Tories, Ouimet decided not to run in the 1896 election
. He declined to serve in the short lived Cabinet of the Sir Charles Tupper
, the final Tory Prime Minister prior to the election. He instead accepted a judicial appointment that he held until his death in 1916.
He holds the current record for being acclaimed to parliament 5 times.
Queen's Privy Council for Canada
The Queen's Privy Council for Canada ), sometimes called Her Majesty's Privy Council for Canada or simply the Privy Council, is the full group of personal consultants to the monarch of Canada on state and constitutional affairs, though responsible government requires the sovereign or her viceroy,...
(baptised Aldric) (May 20, 1848 – May 12, 1916) 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...
parliamentarian.
Ouimet was first elected to the Canadian 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...
in an 1873 by-election
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
as Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Laval
Laval, Quebec
Laval is a Canadian city and a region in southwestern Quebec. It is the largest suburb of Montreal, the third largest municipality in the province of Quebec, and the 14th largest city in Canada with a population of 368,709 in 2006...
, Quebec
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....
. He was a Liberal-Conservative and supporter of the government of Sir John A. Macdonald
John A. Macdonald
Sir John Alexander Macdonald, GCB, KCMG, PC, PC , QC was the first Prime Minister of Canada. The dominant figure of Canadian Confederation, his political career spanned almost half a century...
.
After being educated in a seminary, and a brief career as a journalist, Ouimet became a lawyer. He was first elected to the House of Commons at the age of 25. His advocacy of the rights of French-Canadians was challenged by the Conservative government's attitude to 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....
. Following the First Riel Rebellion, Ouimet argued for Riel to be pardon
Pardon
Clemency means the forgiveness of a crime or the cancellation of the penalty associated with it. It is a general concept that encompasses several related procedures: pardoning, commutation, remission and reprieves...
ed, and, in 1875, voted against a Conservative motion to expel Riel from the seat in the House of Commons to which he had been elected.
With the beginning of the Second Riel Rebellion in 1885, Minister of Militia Adolphe Caron asked Ouimet to raise a regiment from 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...
to join in the suppression of the uprising. Ouimet raised three hundred men, and led his regiment as its Lieutenant-Colonel. He was put under the command of Thomas Bland Strange
Thomas Bland Strange
Thomas Bland Strange , known as 'Gunner Jingo', was a British soldier noted for his service with the Canadian militia during the North-West Rebellion of 1885. Strange was a retired Major-General at the time of the rebellion, and was raising cavalry horses near modern Calgary, Alberta...
who rejected Ouimet's proposal to negotiate safe passage for Riel.
Strange sent Ouimet to Ottawa to secure supplies resulting in newspapers accusing him of desertion. He returned west and was placed in command of Fort Edmonton
Fort Edmonton
Fort Edmonton was the name of a series of trading posts of the Hudson's Bay Company from 1795 to 1891, all of which were located in central Alberta, Canada...
.
Despite fighting against the rebels, Ouimet opposed the execution of Riel when he returned to Ottawa. Ouimet's pleas fell on deaf ears, and, despite his efforts, he was condemned by French-Canadians for having helped put down the rebellion.
Ouimet voted in the House of Commons for a Liberal
Liberal 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...
motion to censure
Censure
A censure is an expression of strong disapproval or harsh criticism. Among the forms that it can take are a stern rebuke by a legislature, a spiritual penalty imposed by a church, and a negative judgment pronounced on a theological proposition.-Politics:...
the government for executing Riel.
The execution of Riel seriously damaged the Conservative Party in Quebec
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....
, and was one of the key factors in the party's decline and eventual loss of power. In an attempt at conciliation, Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Canada
The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
Macdonald nominated Ouimet for the position of Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons
Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons
The Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada is the presiding officer of the lower house of the Parliament of Canada and is elected at the beginning of each new parliament by fellow Members of Parliament...
following the 1887 election
Canadian federal election, 1887
The Canadian federal election of 1887 was held on February 22, 1887 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 6th Parliament of Canada.The Conservative Party of Prime Minister Sir John A...
.
Because of the custom of alternating between English and French Speakers following each general election, Ouimet returned to the backbench following the 1891 election
Canadian federal election, 1891
The Canadian federal election of 1891 was held on March 5 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 7th Parliament of Canada. It was won by the Conservative Party of Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald....
. Macdonald died in June 1891, and his longtime Quebec lieutenant
Quebec lieutenant
In Canadian politics, a Quebec lieutenant is a politician, from Quebec, usually a francophone and most often a Member of Parliament or at least a current or former candidate for Parliament, who is selected by a senior politician such as the Prime Minister or the leader of a national federal party,...
, Sir Hector Langevin, was forced to resign from Cabinet due to a corruption scandal in August. In January 1892, Prime Minister Sir John Abbott made Ouimet the senior minister from Quebec, and appointed him to Langevin's old job as Minister of Public Works
Minister of Public Works (Canada)
The position of Minister of Public Works existed as part of the Cabinet of Canada from Confederation to 1995.As part of substantial governmental reorganization, the position was merged with that of the Minister of Supply and Services to create the position of Minister of Public Works and Government...
. Ouimet stayed in that position under the succession of Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
s who attempted to keep the Conservative government together. He also served as Acting Minister of Agriculture
Minister of Agriculture (Canada)
The Minister of Agriculture is a Minister of the Crown in the Cabinet of Canada, who is responsible for overseeing several organizations including Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Canadian Dairy Commission, Farm Credit Canada, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, National Farm Products Council and...
and Acting Secretary of State for Canada
Secretary of State for Canada
The position of Secretary of State for Canada was a Canadian Cabinet position with a corresponding department. It was established in 1867 as the official channel of communication between the Dominion of Canada and the Imperial government in London...
under Sir Mackenzie Bowell
Mackenzie Bowell
Sir Mackenzie Bowell, PC, KCMG was a Canadian politician who served as the fifth Prime Minister of Canada from December 21, 1894 to April 27, 1896.-Early life:Bowell was born in Rickinghall, Suffolk, England to John Bowell and Elizabeth Marshall...
. Bowell faced a caucus
Caucus
A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a political party or movement, especially in the United States and Canada. As the use of the term has been expanded the exact definition has come to vary among political cultures.-Origin of the term:...
revolt over his handling of the Manitoba Schools Question
Manitoba Schools Question
The Manitoba Schools Question was a political crisis in the Canadian Province of Manitoba that occurred late in the 19th century, involving publicly funded separate schools for Roman Catholics and Protestants...
and was forced to resign. The issue split the party as English Protestant Conservatives rejected Bowell's proposal to create a new Catholic School Board in Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
.
With the fall of Bowell's cabinet, the opposition of Tory MPs to French Catholic rights in Manitoba further hurt the party's prospects among Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
Quebecers. Perhaps sensing that the Conservative government was doomed and that his prospects of keeping his seat were dim as Quebecers turned against the Tories, Ouimet decided not to run in the 1896 election
Canadian federal election, 1896
The Canadian federal election of 1896 was held on June 23, 1896 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 8th Parliament of Canada. Though the Conservative Party won a plurality of the popular vote, the Liberal Party, led by Wilfrid Laurier, won the majority of seats to form the...
. He declined to serve in the short lived Cabinet of the Sir Charles Tupper
Charles Tupper
Sir Charles Tupper, 1st Baronet, GCMG, CB, PC was a Canadian father of Confederation: as the Premier of Nova Scotia from 1864 to 1867, he led Nova Scotia into Confederation. He later went on to serve as the sixth Prime Minister of Canada, sworn in to office on May 1, 1896, seven days after...
, the final Tory Prime Minister prior to the election. He instead accepted a judicial appointment that he held until his death in 1916.
He holds the current record for being acclaimed to parliament 5 times.