Sir Charles Fitzpatrick, GCMG, PC (December 19, 1851 – June 17, 1942) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as Minister of Justice of Canada, as Chief Justice of Canada and then as Lieutenant Governor of Quebec.
Sir Charles Fitzpatrick | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 5th Chief Justice of Canada | |
| In office June 4, 1906 – October 21, 1918 | |
| Nominated by | Wilfrid Laurier |
| Preceded by | Henri Elzéar Taschereau |
| Succeeded by | Louis Henry Davies |
| 12th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec | |
| In office October 23, 1918 – October 31, 1923 | |
| Monarch | George V |
| Governors General | The Duke of Devonshire The Lord Byng of Vimy |
| Premier | Lomer Gouin Louis-Alexandre Taschereau |
| Preceded by | Pierre-Évariste Leblanc |
| Succeeded by | Louis-Philippe Brodeur |
| MP for Quebec County | |
| In office August 19, 1896 – June 3, 1906 | |
| Preceded by | Jules Joseph Taschereau Frémont |
| Succeeded by | Lorenzo Robitaille |
| Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada | |
| In office February 11, 1902 – June 3, 1906 | |
| Preceded by | David Mills |
| Succeeded by | Allen Bristol Aylesworth |
| Solicitor General of Canada | |
| In office July 13, 1896 – February 9, 1902 | |
| Preceded by | Charles Hibbert Tupper |
| Succeeded by | Henry George Carroll |
| MLA for Québec-Comté | |
| In office June 17, 1890 – June 11, 1896 | |
| Preceded by | Thomas Chase-Casgrain |
| Succeeded by | Némèse Garneau |
| Personal details | |
| Born | December 19, 1851 Quebec City, Canada East |
| Died | June 17, 1942 (aged 90) Quebec City, Quebec |
| Resting place | Cimetière Saint-Michel de Sillery |
| Political party | Quebec Liberal Party (1890–1896) Liberal Party of Canada (1896–1906) |
Biography
editFitzpatrick was born in Quebec City, Canada East, to John Fitzpatrick and Mary Connolly.[1] He studied at Laval University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree (1873) and a Bachelor of Laws degree (1876), receiving the Dufferin Silver Medal.[2] Called to the bar of Quebec in 1876, he established his practice in Quebec City and later founded the law firm of Fitzpatrick & Taschereau.[1]
In 1885, he acted as chief counsel to Louis Riel, who was on trial for leading the North-West Rebellion. Riel was found guilty and sentenced to death.[3]
Fitzpatrick entered politics in 1890, winning election to the Quebec Legislative Assembly in the Québec-Comté electoral district. He was re-elected in 1892, but he resigned in June 1896 to enter federal politics.[citation needed]
He was first elected to the House of Commons of Canada in the Quebec County electoral district in the 1896 federal election as a Liberal Member of Parliament (MP). He served as Solicitor General of Canada from 1896 to 1902, and as Minister of Justice from 1902 until 1906.[citation needed] In 1905, he took part, as the federal government representative, in the negotiations that led to the creation of the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan.
He was appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada in 1906 as Chief Justice. He served in that position until 1918, when he was appointed as Lieutenant Governor of Quebec, the 12th since Confederation. Partway through his term as Lieutenant Governor, his wife's nephew (Louis-Alexandre Taschereau) became the Premier of Quebec.
He is the only Chief Justice other than Sir William Buell Richards to have served in that position without having first been a Puisne Justice on the court (Richards was Chief Justice at the court's creation in 1875), and the only Chief Justice to have been appointed without any prior judicial experience.[citation needed]
Personal life
editOn May 20, 1879, Fitzpatrick married Marie-Elmire-Corinne Caron. She was the daughter of René-Édouard Caron, 2nd Lieutenant Governor of Quebec, and his wife Marie-Joséphine De Blois.
He was knighted in 1907. Fitzpatrick died on June 17, 1942, at the age of 90 years and 6 months. He is interred in Sillery, at Saint-Michel Cemetery (cimetière Saint-Michel de Sillery).[4]
Electoral record
edit| 1896 Canadian federal election: Quebec County | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | ||||||
| Liberal | Charles Fitzpatrick | 1,982 | ||||||
| Liberal | Jules-Joseph-Taschereau Frémont | 1,058 | ||||||
By-election: On Mr. Fitzpatrick being appointed Solicitor General, 11 July 1896
| By-election on 30 July 1896 | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Charles Fitzpatrick | acclaimed | |||
| 1900 Canadian federal election: Quebec County | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | ||||||
| Liberal | Charles Fitzpatrick | 2,201 | ||||||
| Conservative | L. A. Beaubien | 911 | ||||||
| 1904 Canadian federal election: Quebec County | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | ||||||
| Liberal | Charles Fitzpatrick | 2,445 | ||||||
| Conservative | J. P. H. Pageot | 271 | ||||||
Archives
editThere is a Charles Fitzpatrick fonds at Library and Archives Canada.[5]
References
edit- ^ a b Canada, Supreme Court of; Canada, Public Works and Government Services (November 1, 2000). The Supreme Court of Canada and its Justices 1875–2000: La Cour suprême du Canada et ses juges 1875–2000. Dundurn. p. 48. ISBN 978-1-77070-095-6.
- ^ History of the Administration of the Earl of Dufferin in Canada, by William Leggo, Toronto: Lovell Printing and Publishing Company (1878), pg. 877
- ^ Canada, Supreme Court of (January 1, 2001). "Supreme Court of Canada – Biography – Charles Fitzpatrick". www.scc-csc.ca. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
- ^ "Sir Charles Fitzpatrick P.C.G.C.M.G. 1851—1942: BillionGraves Record". BillionGraves.com. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
- ^ "Charles Fitzpatrick fonds, Library and Archives Canada". July 20, 2017. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
External links
edit
- Supreme Court of Canada biography
- "Biography". Dictionnaire des parlementaires du Québec de 1792 à nos jours (in French). National Assembly of Quebec.
- Charles Fitzpatrick – Parliament of Canada biography
- Beach, Chandler B., ed. (1914). . . Chicago: F. E. Compton and Co.
- Fitzpatrick, Sir Charles National Historic Person — Parks Canada
- The Newspaper Reference Book of Canada: Embracing Facts and Data Regarding Canada and Biographical Sketches of Representative Canadian Men. Hon. Charles Fitzpatrick, B.A., KC. Toronto: The Press Publishing Company, Limited (1903), p. 201
- Sir Charles Fitzpatrick, Canadian Confederation — Library and Archives Canada (2005)
- Sir Charles Fitzpatrick — The Canadian Encyclopedia (2013)