Télesphore-Damien Bouchard

Télesphore-Damien Bouchard (December 20, 1881 – November 13, 1962) was a politician in Quebec, Canada.

The Hon. Télesphore-Damien Bouchard
Member of the Legislative Assembly of Quebec for Saint-Hyacinthe
In office 1912–1919
Preceded by	Henri Bourassa
Succeeded by	Armand Boisseau
In office 1923–1944
Preceded by	Armand Boisseau
Succeeded by	Ernest-Joseph Chartier
Speaker of the Legislative Assembly
In office 1930–1935
Preceded by	Hector Laferté
Succeeded by	Lucien Dugas
Leader of the Opposition of Quebec
In office 1936–1939
Preceded by	Maurice Duplessis
Succeeded by	Maurice Duplessis
Senator for The Laurentides, Quebec
In office 1944–1962
Appointed by	William Lyon Mackenzie King
Preceded by	Pierre Édouard Blondin
Succeeded by	Maurice Bourget
Personal details
Born	(1881-12-20)December 20, 1881 Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec
Died	November 13, 1962(1962-11-13) (aged 80) Westmount, Quebec
Political party	Liberal
Other political affiliations	Quebec Liberal Party
Cabinet	Minister of Municipal Affairs, Trade and Commerce (1935–1936) Minister of Municipal Affairs (1936) Minister of Lands and Forests (1936) Minister of Public Works (1939–1942) Minister of Roads (1939–1944)

Born in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, he was the mayor of the municipality from 1917 to 1930 and from 1932 to 1944 and president of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities in 1918. He also founded the Union des municipalités de la province de Québec (Federation of municipalities in the province of Quebec) in 1919. He served as Liberal leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly of Quebec from 1936 to 1939, after Liberal leader Adélard Godbout lost the 1936 election and also narrowly lost his own seat. Bouchard served as opposition leader while Godbout remained leader of the Liberal Party.

After the Liberals returned to power in the 1939 election, he served in Godbout's cabinet. Resigned in 1944 when he was appointed to the Senate, where he remained until his death. Overall, he was the MLA for the district of Saint-Hyacinthe from 1912 to 1919 and from 1923 to 1944.

A leading campaigner for public ownership of electric utilities, he became first president of Hydro-Québec in April 1944. Two months later he was fired by Premier Godbout, after Bouchard made a series of anticlerical statements.

Biography

• GUTTMAN, Frank Myron, The Devil from Saint-Hyacinthe: Senator Télesphore-Damien Bouchard, A Tragic Hero, iUniverse Books, New York, 2007, 405 p.

See also

• Politics of Quebec
• Quebec general elections
• List of Quebec leaders of the Opposition
• Timeline of Quebec history

External links

• Works by or about Télesphore-Damien Bouchard at the Internet Archive
• "Biography". Dictionnaire des parlementaires du Québec de 1792 à nos jours (in French). National Assembly of Quebec.
• Télesphore-Damien Bouchard – Parliament of Canada biography