Joseph-Armand Choquette (July 24, 1905 – April 6, 1999) was a farmer and politician. He was the first Member of Parliament to have been elected to 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 ...

representing the

Bloc populaire canadien The (, ), often shortened to the Bloc populaire or the Bloc, was a political party in the Canadian province of Quebec from 1942 to 1947. It was founded on September 8, 1942, by opponents of conscription during the Second World War. The party ran ...

and was also the last surviving member of the Bloc populaire's

caucus A caucus is a group or meeting of supporters or members of a specific political party or movement. The exact definition varies between different countries and political cultures. The term originated in the United States, where it can refer to ...

when he died in 1999 at the age of 93."The last survivor of the "Bloc populaire" has died. J. Armand Choquette was the first of his party to be elected, in 1943 in Stanstead"
by Gilles Dallaire, ''La Tribune'' (Sherbrooke), Thursday April 8th, 1999.

Biography

Choquette entered parliament via an August 9, 1943

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

in Stanstead in the

Eastern Townships The Eastern Townships (, ) is a historical administrative region in southeastern Quebec, Canada. It lies between the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Lowlands, St. Lawrence Lowlands and the American border, and extends from Granby, Quebec, Granby in ...

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, ...

which he stood in the midst of the

Conscription Crisis A conscription crisis is a public dispute about a policy of conscription, or mandatory service in the military, known in US English as a "draft". A dispute can become a crisis when submission to military service becomes highly controversial and po ...

for the anti-draft party. He defeated former MP Robert Davison of the governing

Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada (LPC; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia''. and generally sits at the Centrism, ...

by more than 1200 votes. The by-election had been called as a result of Davidson's victory in the 1940 election victory being overturned by the courts due to voting irregularities. While Davidson won most of the English vote in the by-election, Choquette cornered the francophone vote with the support of the president of the Catholic Farmers Union and of legendary Quebec politician

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 ...

who campaigned on his behalf. He sat in the House of Commons for two years before being defeated in the 1945 federal election by Progressive Conservative

John Thomas Hackett John Thomas Hackett, (June 12, 1884 – September 15, 1956) was a Canadian lawyer and politician. He represented Stanstead in the House of Commons of Canada from 1930 to 1935 and from 1945 to 1949 as a Conservative and then as a Progress ...

by less than 500 votes. Outside of his brief parliamentary career, Choquette served as secretary-treasurer of the municipality of

Sainte-Catherine-de-Hatley, Quebec Sainte-Catherine-de-Hatley is a municipality in the Memphrémagog Regional County Municipality in the Eastern Townships region of Quebec, Canada. Located along Quebec Route 108 on Little Lake Magog, it is the home of the "Marais" birdwatching sa ...

for 32 years and operated a farm in the municipality. He was also Diocesan President of the Catholic Farmers Union for several years.

Electoral record

References

External links

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"The last survivor of the "Bloc populaire" has passed away. J. Armand Choquette was the first of his party to be elected, in 1943 in Stanstead"
by Gilles Dallaire, ''La Tribune'' (Sherbrooke), Thursday April 8, 1999 (Translated) 1905 births 1999 deaths Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Quebec Bloc populaire canadien MPs 20th-century Canadian farmers Politicians from Estrie 20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada Farmers from Quebec {{Quebec-MP-stub