Alexandre-Maurice Delisle (April 20, 1810 – February 13, 1880) was a

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

businessman and political figure. Trained as a lawyer, he held several public service positions in the governments of

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada () was a British colonization of the Americas, British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence established in 1791 and abolished in 1841. It covered the southern portion o ...

and the

Province of Canada The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in British North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report ...

. In 1841, he was elected to the first Parliament of the

, and was one of only two French-Canadian members of the Assembly to vote in favour of the union of

and

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada () was a Province, part of The Canadas, British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the Province of Queb ...

. He resigned his seat in 1843 to return to provincial service, as clerk of the Crown. Although he left electoral politics, he was a strong supporter of the Parti Bleu. In addition to his provincial offices, he was involved in various business activities. Delisle's career took a major setback when he was accused by his own brother of having committed frauds when serving as a clerk of the Crown. The provincial government held a public inquiry into the allegations, but the issue became a partisan dispute. The government was Liberal, Delisle was Bleu, and he lost his provincial positions in 1863. When the Conservative-Bleu alliance returned to power in 1866, they reinstated him, but the Liberal government of Alexander Mackenzie again dismissed him in 1874. At the time of his death in 1880, Delisle was rumoured to be in line for an appointment to the

Senate of Canada The Senate of Canada () is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons, they compose the Bicameralism, bicameral le ...

by the Conservative government of Sir John A. Macdonald, who was returned to office in 1878.

Early life

Delisle was born in

(now

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

) on April 20, 1810, son of Jean Delisle and Mary Robinson. His father was a clerk with Trinity House in Montreal, which regulated shipping on the St. Lawrence River. He studied at the Petit Séminaire de Montréal from 1817 to 1822, then articled in law. He was admitted to the bar in 1832. In 1833, he married Marie-Angélique, daughter of

Austin Cuvillier Austin Cuvillier (August 20, 1779 – July 11, 1849) was a businessman and political figure in Lower Canada and Canada East. He was a successful ''Canadien'' businessmen, unusual when most businessmen in Lower Canada were British. He also w ...

, a well-established Montreal merchant and member of the

Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada The Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada was the lower house of the bicameral structure of provincial government in Lower Canada until 1838. The legislative assembly was created by the Constitutional Act of 1791. The lower house consisted of e ...

.Jacques Monet
"Delisle, Alexandre-Maurice"
''Dictionary of Canadian Biography'', vol. X (1871–1880), University of Toronto / Université Laval.

Early career

Delisle began to work in the provincial public service in Montreal. He was appointed clerk of the peace and clerk of the Crown in 1833. In 1838 he was appointed the commissioner to receive the oaths of the members of the Special Council of Lower Canada, which governed the province following the Lower Canada Rebellion. That year he was again appointed clerk of the peace.

Legislative Assembly

Following the rebellion in Lower Canada, and the similar rebellion in 1837 in

(now

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

), the British government decided to merge the two provinces into a single province, as recommended by Lord Durham in the Durham Report. The ''Union Act, 1840'', passed by the

British Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of ...

, abolished the two provinces and their separate parliaments, and created the

, with a single Parliament for the entire province, composed of an elected Legislative Assembly and an appointed

Legislative Council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...

. The Governor General retained a strong position in the government. At the request of the Governor General, Lord Sydenham, in 1841 Delisle stood as a candidate in the first general elections to the

Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada The Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada was the lower house of the Parliament of the Province of Canada. The Province of Canada consisted of the former province of Lower Canada, then known as Canada East (now Quebec), and Upper Canada ...

. His opponent in Montreal County was James Leslie, who had extensive political experience from his time in the

. Although Leslie had supported the union in principle, he disagreed with the terms, particularly the equal representation of the two Canadas in the new Parliament. Delisle campaigned in favour of the union of the Canadas. The election turned violent and two of Delisle's supporters were killed, but he was declared elected. In the first session, one of the major issues was a motion concerning the recent union of the Canadas, which had been strongly opposed in Lower Canada. Delisle was one of two French-Canadian members of the Assembly who voted in favour of the union, the other being Melchior-Alphonse de Salaberry. During his time in the Assembly, Delisle was a consistent supporter of the Governor, and a member of the informal " British Tory" group from Canada East. Delisle resigned his seat in 1843 to return to the post of clerk of the Crown in Montreal.

Later career

Although Delisle had left the Assembly, he had not stopped his involvement in politics. As clerk of the Crown in Montreal, he was returning officer for a Montreal by-election in 1844, which also turned violent. Delisle was a strong supporter of the candidate of Governor General Metcalfe, who was defeated. Delisle was an early and strong supporter of the Parti bleu, the conservative party which gradually emerged in Canada East. He gave large sums to election campaigns, and was a close friend and respected advisor of

George-Étienne Cartier Sir George-Étienne Cartier, 1st Baronet, (pronounced ; September 6, 1814May 20, 1873) was a Canadians, Canadian statesman and Fathers of Confederation, Father of Confederation. The English spelling of the name—George, instead of Georges, th ...

, who became the leader of the Bleus and a Father of Confederation. Delisle was a successful land speculator, particularly in the

Rimouski Rimouski ( ; ) is a city in Quebec, Canada. Rimouski is located in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region, at the mouth of the Rimouski River. It has a population of 48,935 (as of 2021). Rimouski, whose motto is ''Legi patrum fidelis'' (Faithful to ...

and Pointe-au-Père areas. He was involved in banking, serving as a director and later the president for the Montreal City and District Savings Bank, and also a director of the City Bank of Montreal. He helped promote the Montreal and Bytown Railway, personally investing £1000, and also served as its president. Delisle also served as director and later president for the Champlain and St. Lawrence Railroad, until it combined with the

Grand Trunk Railway The Grand Trunk Railway (; ) was a Rail transport, railway system that operated in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario and in the List of states and territories of the United States, American sta ...

. He was also a director of the Gulf of St. Lawrence Steamship Company, which involved business travel to the West Indies and South America. In 1859, he was named to the Montreal Harbour Commission, and in 1862 he was appointed sheriff of Montreal. In 1864, he bought a large tract of land which became the town of Sainte-Cunégonde, later incorporated into the city of Montreal and known as

Little Burgundy Little Burgundy (, ) is a neighbourhood in the Le Sud-Ouest, South West Boroughs of Montreal, borough of the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Geography Its approximate boundaries are Atwater Avenue to the west, Saint Antoine Street, Saint-An ...

Fraud charges

In 1863, Delisle was accused of fraud by his own brother, Michel-Charles, relating to his term as clerk of the Crown. Delisle and two others in the office were alleged to have over-charged for the issuing of subpoenas from the office, and used the difference to fund their own speculative ventures. The provincial government of the day, the Sandfield Macdonald- Sicotte ministry, appointed a commission of inquiry, which turned into a heavily partisan matter. The government was Liberal-Rouge and Delisle was Bleu. He called a large number of witnesses in his behalf, most of whom were high-ranking Bleus. Delisle maintained that the whole thing was the result of the machinations of Joseph Doutre, a Montreal lawyer who was a strong supporter of the Liberals and

Parti rouge The (, "Red Party"; or , "Democratic Party") was a political group that contested elections in the Canada East, Eastern section of the Province of Canada. It was formed around 1847 by radical French-Canadians; the party was inspired by the ideas ...

."Correspondence, documents, evidence and proceedings in the enquiry of Messrs. LeFrenaye & Doherty, commissioners, into the office of the Clerk of the Crown and Clerk of the Peace, Montreal" (Montreal: Montreal Gazette, 1864).
/ref> The commissioners concluded that the allegations were upheld. The government relieved of Delisle of his posts as harbour commissioner and sheriff. When the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

/Bleu parties regained power in 1866, he was reinstated to the harbour commission and also given the post of customs collector at Montreal. He held those offices until the Liberals returned to power in 1874, when he was again dismissed.

Last years

Delisle died at Montreal in 1880. It was rumoured that he was in line for appointment to the

by the Conservative government of Sir John A. Macdonald, who had been returned to power in the 1878 election. Delisle died a wealthy man, having profited greatly from his various business and entrepreneurial activities. He was buried in the

Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery (, ) is a rural cemetery located in the borough of Côte-des-Neiges-Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, which was founded in 1854. The entrance and the grounds run along a part of Côte-des-Neiges Ro ...

, close to the gravesite of his political ally, Cartier.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Delisle, Alexandre-Maurice 1810 births 1880 deaths Bank of Montreal people Burials at Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery Businesspeople from Montreal Lawyers in Quebec Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from Canada East Montreal City and District Savings Bank directors Parti bleu MLAs in the Province of Canada Petit Séminaire de Montréal alumni Politicians from Montreal 19th-century Canadian businesspeople