Honoré Mercier | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 9th Premier of Quebec | |
| In office January 27, 1887 – December 21, 1891 | |
| Monarch | Victoria |
| Lieutenant Governor | Louis-Rodrigue Masson Auguste-Réal Angers |
| Preceded by | Louis-Olivier Taillon |
| Succeeded by | Charles Boucher de Boucherville |
| Member of Parliament forRouville | |
| In office October 12, 1872 – January 22, 1874 | |
| Preceded by | Guillaume Cheval dit St-Jacques |
| Succeeded by | Guillaume Cheval dit St-Jacques |
| MNA for Saint-Hyacinthe | |
| In office June 3, 1879 – June 17, 1890 | |
| Preceded by | Pierre Bachand |
| Succeeded by | Odilon Desmarais |
| MNA for Bonaventure | |
| In office June 17, 1890 – October 30, 1894 | |
| Preceded by | Henri-Josué Martin |
| Succeeded by | François-Xavier Lemieux |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1840-10-15)October 15, 1840 |
| Died | October 30, 1894(1894-10-30) (aged 54) |
| Political party | Liberal Party / Parti National |
| Spouse(s) | Léopoldine Boivin (death) Virginie Saint-Denis |
| Alma mater | Jesuit College Sainte-Marie |
| Occupation | Lawyer, newspaper editor |
| Profession | politician |
Honoré Mercier (October 15, 1840 – October 30, 1894) was a Canadian lawyer, journalist and politician inQuebec. He was the ninthpremier of Quebec from January 27, 1887, to December 21, 1891, as leader of theParti National orQuebec Liberal Party (PLQ). He rose to power by mobilizing the Francophone opposition to the execution ofLouis Riel, denouncing it as a betrayal byJohn A. Macdonald's Conservative government.
Mercier was born inSaint-Athanase,Lower Canada to farmer Jean-Baptiste Mercier and Marie Kimener. Mercier is descended from Julien Mercier (1621-1676) who arrived fromTourouvre, France in 1647. Mercier studied at the Jesuit College Sainte-Marie inMontreal, and was called to theBar of Quebec in April 1865. As the age of 22, Mercier became the editor ofLe Courrier de St-Hyacinthe newspaper. He opposed theConfederation project as early as 1864, believing that it would be detrimental toFrench Canadians.
In 1871, he was instrumental in creating the short-lived Parti National. Mercier successfully ran as aLiberal candidate in the1872 election. He became Member of theHouse of Commons for the district ofRouville. He did not run for re-election in the1874 election. In the1878 election, Mercier was candidate in the district ofSt. Hyacinthe. He was defeated by theLouis Tellier, hisConservative opponent.[1]
In 1879, Mercier was appointed Solicitor General of Quebec in theCabinet ofPremierHenri-Gustave Joly de Lotbinière and served in that position for less than a year. He won aby-election and became Member of theLegislative Assembly for the district ofSaint-Hyacinthe. He was re-elected in the1881 and1886 elections and won another by-election in 1887.[1]
He left an impact on a later leader,Henri Bourassa.
He became the leader of the PLQ in 1883. A practising lawyer, from 1885 to 1887 he was President of theBar of Montreal. He strongly opposed the execution ofLouis Riel in 1885; this event helped him win popular support, and theQuebec Conservative Party lost support because its federal counterparts had ordered Riel's execution.[1]
Seizing the opportunity to build a coalition with dissident Conservatives, Mercier revived the "Parti National" name for the1886 Quebec provincial election, and won a majority of seats. However, the coalition consisted of mostly Liberals and only a few Conservatives, so the "Liberal" name was soon reinstituted. The Conservatives, reduced to a minority in theLegislative Assembly, clung to power for a few more months, but Mercier became Premier of Quebec in 1887.
Seeing provincial autonomy as the political expression of Quebec nationalism, he collaborated with Ontario PremierOliver Mowat to roll back federal centralism. Mercier initiated the idea of interprovincial conferences in 1887. He was the first Quebec premier to defend the principle of provincial autonomy within the confederation, campaigning to abolish the federal government's claimed right to veto provincial legislation.[2]
With his strong nationalist stance, Mercier was very much a precursor of later nationalist premiers in future decades who confronted the federal government and tried to win more power for Quebec. He promoted contacts withFrancophones in other parts of North America outside of Quebec includingWestern Canada andNew England. Those francophones had not yet been assimilated into the English-Canadian or American culture to the extent they would be in the future. Mercier promoted reform, economic development, Catholicism, and the French language. He won popularity but also made enemies. He was returned to the legislature as the Member for the district ofBonaventure and his party won the1890 election with an increased majority. In 1891, he was created acount by the Pope.
On December 16, 1891, he was dismissed by Lieutenant GovernorAuguste-Réal Angers after a report concluded that his government had diverted public funds. He lost the1892 election,[3] and gave up the party leadership toFélix-Gabriel Marchand. He was brought to trial later that year and found not guilty when a second report concluded differently on the matter. However, his health had greatly deteriorated and his political career was over. He died in 1894 at the age of 54, and was interred in theNotre Dame des Neiges Cemetery in Montreal, Quebec.
The following landmarks were named to honour Honoré Mercier:
His sonHonoré Mercierfils was a multi-term member of the Legislative Assembly of Quebec and a Cabinet Minister; his grandsonHonoré Mercier III served one term in the Legislative Assembly.
Mercier wasLomer Gouin's father-in-law and is a great-great-grandfather ofNDP retired leaderThomas Mulcair.
| 1872 Canadian federal election:Rouville | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | ||||||
| Liberal | Honoré Mercier | 1,033 | ||||||
| Liberal | Guillaume Cheval, Alias Saint-Jacques | 977 | ||||||
| Source: Canadian Elections Database[4] | ||||||||
| 1878 Canadian federal election:St. Hyacinthe | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | ||||||
| Conservative | Louis Tellier | 1,181 | ||||||
| Liberal | Honoré Mercier | 1,175 | ||||||
There is a Honoré Mercierfonds atLibrary and Archives Canada.[5] There are also two fonds atBibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec.[6]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Solicitor General 1879–1879 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Attorney General 1887–1888 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Leader of the Official Opposition 1883–1887 | Succeeded by |
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