Alphonse Verville (October 28, 1864 – June 20, 1930) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

politician and

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits (s ...

ist. Born and raised in the

Côte-Saint-Paul Côte-Saint-Paul is a neighbourhood located in the Southwest Borough of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. History The concession of côte Saint-Paul was granted by the Sulpician Order, seigneurs of the Island of Montreal, in 1662. It extended northwa ...

neighbourhood of

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

, Verville was a plumber by trade. At the age of 18 he moved to

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and joined the

International Plumbers' Union International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

. He returned to Montreal in 1893 and worked to organize plumbers. He became leader of the plumbers' union in Montreal and in 1904 became president of the MTLC, Montreal's Trades and Labour Council. Verville served as president of the

Trades and Labour Congress of Canada The Trades and Labor Congress of Canada was a Canada-wide central federation of trade unions from 1886 to 1956. It was founded at the initiative of the Toronto Trades and Labour Council and the Knights of Labor. It was the third attempt at a nat ...

from 1904 to 1910. Politically, Verville was an early advocate of the

movement running their own candidates for political office. He was elected to the House of Commons of Canada as a Labour candidate in a 1906

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election ( Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election use ...

in Maisonneuve, defeating a Liberal opponent, and was re-elected as a Labour MP in the

1908 Events January * January 1 – The British ''Nimrod'' Expedition led by Ernest Shackleton sets sail from New Zealand on the ''Nimrod'' for Antarctica. * January 3 – A total solar eclipse is visible in the Pacific Ocean, and is the 46 ...

and 1911 federal elections. Upon entering parliament he became a supporter of the Liberals and was often billed as a Liberal-Labour MP. In his re-election contests he was supported by the Liberals who ran no candidate of their own against him. In the 1917 federal election caused by the

Conscription Crisis of 1917 The Conscription Crisis of 1917 (french: Crise de la conscription de 1917) was a political and military crisis in Canada during World War I. It was mainly caused by disagreement on whether men should be conscripted to fight in the war, but also b ...

, Verville ran and was elected as a Laurier Liberal in the riding of St-Denis. He remained in the Commons until 1921. After nine years in retirement, he died on 20 June 1930 in Montreal, at the age of 65, following stomach surgery.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Verville, Alphonse 1864 births 1930 deaths Trade unionists from Quebec Labour MPs in Canada Liberal Party of Canada MPs Laurier Liberals Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Quebec Plumbers People from Le Sud-Ouest Presidents of the Trades and Labor Congress of Canada Canadian builders