François Eugène Alfred Évanturel (August 31, 1846 – November 15, 1908) was speaker of the Legislature of

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 ...

in 1897-1902 and served as Liberal MLA for

Prescott Prescott may refer to: People Given name * Prescott E. Bloom, American lawyer and politician * Prescott Bush, American banker and politician * Samuel Prescott Bush, American industrialist * Prescott F. Hall, American lawyer, author and eugenicist ...

from 1886 to 1904. His name also appears in an anglicized form as Francis Evanturel. He was born at

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

in 1846, the son of

François Évanturel François Évanturel (October 22, 1821 – March 12, 1891) was a Quebec lawyer, journalist and political figure. He was born in Quebec City in 1821, the son of a soldier in Napoleon's army who had joined the British Army after having been take ...

, and studied at the

Petit Séminaire de Québec Petit is a French-language surname literally meaning "small" or "little". Notable people with the surname include: *Adriana Petit (born 1984), Spanish multidisciplinary artist *Alexis Thérèse Petit (1791–1820), French physicist * Amandine Pet ...

and the

Université Laval (; English: ''Laval University)'' is a public research university in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The university traces its roots to the Séminaire de Québec, founded by François de Montmorency-Laval in 1663, making it the oldest institutio ...

. He was called to the Lower Canada bar in 1871 and set up practice at Quebec. In 1873, he married Maria Victoria Louisa Lee. The following year, he went to

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, where he was employed in the secretariat of the Minister of Public Works. After working with the Post Office Department, he moved to Alfred, Ontario in 1881. He became a strong proponent for

Francophone The Francophonie or Francophone world is the whole body of people and organisations around the world who use the French language regularly for private or public purposes. The term was coined by Onésime Reclus in 1880 and became important a ...

rights in the province and was particularly opposed to the policy of English-only schools supported by the provincial

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s. In 1886, he established a weekly newspaper ''L'Interprète'' in Alfred. In 1892, the paper was purchased by

Henri Bourassa Joseph-Napoléon-Henri Bourassa (; September 1, 1868 – August 31, 1952) was a French Canadian political leader and publisher. In 1899, Bourassa was outspoken against the Government of the United Kingdom, British government's request for Cana ...

and relocated to

Montebello, Quebec Montebello () is a Municipality (Quebec), municipality located in the Papineau Regional County Municipality of Western Quebec, Canada. At the 2021 census, there were 934 permanent residents. The village has a total area of , and is located at the ...

. He was made speaker in the legislature as a result of pressure from

Wilfrid Laurier Sir Henri Charles Wilfrid Laurier (November 20, 1841 – February 17, 1919) was a Canadian lawyer, statesman, and Liberal politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Canada from 1896 to 1911. The first French Canadians, French ...

and became the first and, to date, the only Francophone to occupy that post. In 1904, he became a minister without portfolio in the provincial cabinet, thus becoming the first Francophone cabinet minister in the province. He died in Alfred in 1908. His son Gustave served in both the House of Commons and the Ontario assembly. The township of Evanturel took its name from Évanturel.

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* 1846 births 1908 deaths Franco-Ontarian people Ontario Liberal Party MPPs Speakers of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario Université Laval alumni 19th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario {{Liberal-Ontario-MPP-stub