Omer Alphonse Demers (March 2, 1893 – February 8, 1969) was a general merchant and political figure in

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

. He represented Shellbrook from 1934 to 1944 in the

Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan The Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan () is the legislative chamber of the Saskatchewan Legislature in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada. Bills passed by the assembly are given royal assent by the lieutenant governor of Saskatchewan, in the ...

as a Liberal. He was born in

Ham-Nord, Quebec Ham-Nord, Quebec is a township municipality in the Centre-du-Québec region of Quebec, Canada. Demographics In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), formed in 1971, is the agency of t ...

, the son of Alfred Demers and Rose Anna Dufresne, and was educated in

Victoriaville Victoriaville () is a town in south-central Quebec, Canada, on the Nicolet River. Victoriaville is the seat of Arthabaska Regional County Municipality and a part of the Centre-du-Québec (Bois-Francs) region. It is formed by the 1993 merger of ...

. In 1912, his father and mother moved to Debden, Saskatchewan; they were one of the first families to settle in the area. They convinced Omer and his brother Adelbert to move to Debden. The two brothers arrived with a

boxcar A boxcar is the North American (Association of American Railroads, AAR) and South Australian Railways term for a Railroad car#Freight cars, railroad car that is enclosed and generally used to carry freight. The boxcar, while not the simpl ...

full of supplies and, soon after arriving, built a store which included living quarters. In 1914, Omer married Lucienne Larose. With his business going well, he soon built a larger store and residence. Demers helped open the first school in the town in 1915 and helped establish a

Catholic parish In the Catholic Church, a parish () is a stable community of the faithful within a particular church, whose pastoral care has been entrusted to a parish priest (Latin: ''parochus''), under the authority of the diocesan bishop. It is the lowest ecc ...

. He also served as

postmaster A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...

from 1912 to 1919. In 1920, Demers became the first mayor of Debden. He sold the store after his wife developed

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

. After she recovered, she opened a women's clothing store in Debden. Demers took up ranching and then

muskrat The muskrat or common muskrat (''Ondatra zibethicus'') is a medium-sized semiaquatic rodent native to North America and an introduced species in parts of Europe, Asia, and South America. The muskrat is found in wetlands over various climates ...

ranching; both ventures were not successful. He was defeated by Albert Victor Sterling when he ran for reelection to the assembly in

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free France, Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command First Army (France), French Army B, part of the Sixt ...

. In 1945, Demers moved to

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

. He died in

Esquimalt The Township of Esquimalt () is a municipality at the southern tip of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. It is bordered to the east by the provincial capital, Victoria, British Columbia, Victoria, to the south by the Strait of Jua ...

at the age of 75.

References

Saskatchewan Liberal Party MLAs 1893 births 1969 deaths Politicians from Centre-du-Québec Fransaskois people 20th-century mayors of places in Saskatchewan 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan {{Liberal-Saskatchewan-MLA-stub