Ernest Pacaud (August 25, 1850 – April 19, 1904) was a

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lawyer and journalist. He was born Philippe-Olivier Pacaud in

Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières (, ; ) is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice River, Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence River, Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Sain ...

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in 1850, the son of Philippe-Napoléon Pacaud. He attended school in Trois-Rivières and then studied at the Séminaire de Nicolet. Pacaud articled in law with his uncle Édouard-Louis Pacaud, was called to the bar in 1872 and set up practice in Arthabaska. He joined the local militia during the Fenian raids. Pacaud is credited with convincing

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 ...

to enter politics. Pacaud himself ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the Quebec assembly in an 1874 by-election. He married Marie-Louise, the daughter of

Joseph-Édouard Turcotte Joseph-Édouard Turcotte (October 10, 1808 – December 20, 1864) was a lawyer, businessman, and political figure in Canada East (now Quebec). Born to a merchant family, he considered the priesthood, but after the loss of one arm in an ac ...

, in 1876. In 1877, he founded ''Le Journal d'Arthabaska''. In 1878, he was named protonotary in the

Quebec Superior Court The Superior Court of Quebec () is a superior trial court in the Province of Quebec, in Canada. It consists of 157 judges who are appointed by the federal government. Appeals from this court are taken to the Quebec Court of Appeal. Jurisdictio ...

, clerk for the Circuit Court and crown clerk for the Trois-Rivières district. When the Conservatives came to power the following year, he was relieved of these appointments and he returned to the practice of law in Trois-Rivières. He became editor of a local newspaper, ''La Concorde''. In 1880, he helped found the Liberal newspaper '' L'Électeur'' at

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and became its editor and later its owner. He ran unsuccessfully in Bellechasse for a seat in the House of Commons in 1882. In 1886, he played an important part in the election victory of the

Parti National The Parti National () was the name taken by the Liberal Party of Quebec, Canada, under the premiership of Honoré Mercier. Origin and beliefs It was founded on November 17, 1885, the day following the execution of Métis Leader Louis Riel. ...

Honoré Mercier Honoré Mercier (October 15, 1840 – October 30, 1894) was a Canadian lawyer, journalist and politician in Quebec. He was the ninth premier of Quebec from January 27, 1887, to December 21, 1891, as leader of the Parti National or Quebec Libera ...

. In December 1896, ''L'Électeur'' became ''

Le Soleil Le Soleil ("The Sun") is the name of several newspapers: * ''Le Soleil'' (Quebec), a French-language daily newspaper in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, founded in 1896 * ''Le Soleil'' (French newspaper), a defunct daily newspaper based in Paris fro ...

'' when the Quebec Catholic bishops forbade the reading of Pacaud's newspaper after he had published several editorials critical of the church. In 1903, Pacaud fell seriously ill and the Compagnie de Publication Le Soleil was formed to take over the operation of the paper. He died at Quebec City in 1904. His brother Gaspard Pacaud was a newspaper editor and also served in the Ontario legislative assembly. His son Lucien Turcotte Pacaud served in the Canadian House of Commons.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pacaud, Ernest 1850 births 1904 deaths People of the Fenian raids Canadian newspaper editors Canadian male journalists People from Trois-Rivières