Ferdinand-Joseph Robidoux (October 17, 1875 – June 17, 1962) was a lawyer and political figure of

Acadian The Acadians (; , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Today, most descendants of Acadians live in either the Northern American region of Acadia, ...

descent in

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

, Canada. He represented

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

in the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada () is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Ca ...

from 1911 to 1917 as a

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 ...

. He was born in

Shediac, New Brunswick Shediac (official in both languages; ''Shédiac'' is colloquial French) is a town in Westmorland County, New Brunswick, Westmorland County, New Brunswick known as the "Lobster Capital of the World". It hosts an annual festival every July which ...

, the son of Ferdinand Robidoux, who was editor-owner of ''

Le Moniteur Acadien ''Le Moniteur Acadien'' () is a weekly newspaper based in Shediac, New Brunswick, Canada. Owned by Radio Beauséjour, it was founded on March 5, 1867, by Israël Landry. ''Le Moniteur Acadien'' is the first Acadian newspaper as well as the first F ...

'', and Marguerite Michaud. Robidoux was educated at

Saint Joseph's University Saint Joseph's University (SJU or St. Joe's) is a Private university, private Jesuits, Jesuit university in Philadelphia, Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, and Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The university was founded by the Jesuits, Society of J ...

. In 1913, he married Emily Annette Evans. Robidoux practised law in

Richibucto Richibucto is a former town in Kent County, New Brunswick, Canada. It held town status prior to 2023 and is now part of the town of Beaurivage. Geography The town is situated on the Richibucto River where it discharges into the Northumberl ...

. He served on the New Brunswick Electric Power Commission from 1925 to 1935 and the New Brunswick Liquor Control Board from 1927 to 1935. He served as secretary for Kent Municipality and as a member of the town council for Shediac. Robidoux ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the House of Commons in 1908. He was defeated when he ran for re-election in the 1917 federal election held as a result of the

Conscription Crisis of 1917 The Conscription Crisis of 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 brought out many issues regarding relatio ...

. Robidoux ran as a supporter of the pro-conscription Unionist government and was defeated by an anti-conscription

Laurier Liberal Prior to the 1917 federal election in Canada, the Liberal Party of Canada split into two factions. To differentiate the groups, historians tend to use two retrospective names: * The Laurier Liberals, who opposed conscription of soldiers to sup ...

. He founded L'Imprimerie Nationale and was publisher for ''La Nation'' from 1929 to 1930. He was the author of ''Les Conventions nationales des Acadiens'', published in 1907.

References

Members of the House of Commons of Canada from New Brunswick Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) MPs Politicians of Acadian descent 1875 births 1962 deaths People from Shediac St. Joseph's College alumni 20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada {{NewBrunswick-MP-stub