Joseph-Goderic Blanchet (or Joseph-Godric; June 7, 1829 – January 1, 1890) was a

Canadian Canadians () 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 their being ''C ...

physician and politician. He was the only person to serve as both

speaker of the House of Commons Speaker of the House of Commons is a political leadership position found in countries that have a House of Commons, where the membership of the body elects a speaker to lead its proceedings. Systems that have such a position include: * Speaker of ...

and

speaker Speaker most commonly refers to: * Speaker, a person who produces speech * Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound ** Computer speakers Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Speaker" (song), by David ...

of a provincial

legislature A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial power ...

. He represented

Lévis Lévis () is a city in eastern Quebec, Canada, located on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River, opposite Quebec City. A ferry links Old Quebec with Old Lévis, and two bridges, the Quebec Bridge and the Pierre-Laporte Bridge, connect we ...

in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

as a

Liberal-Conservative Liberal conservatism is a political ideology combining conservative policies with liberal stances, especially on economic issues but also on social and ethical matters, representing a brand of political conservatism strongly influenced by libe ...

member from 1867 to 1873 and from 1879 to 1883; he represented Bellechasse from 1875 to 1878. He also represented

in the

Legislative Assembly of Quebec A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the authority, legal authority to make laws for a Polity, political entity such as a Sovereign state, country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with th ...

from 1867 to 1875.

Biography

He was born in

Saint-Pierre-de-la-Rivière-du-Sud Saint-Pierre-de-la-Rivière-du-Sud () is a parish municipality in Quebec, Canada. Demographics In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Saint-Pierre-de-la-Rivière-du-Sud had a population of living in of its total ...

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada () was a British colonization of the Americas, British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence established in 1791 and abolished in 1841. It covered the southern portion o ...

in 1825. He 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

Collège de Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pocatière In France, secondary education is in two stages: * ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 14. * ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for students between ...

. He then studied medicine with his uncle Jean Blanchet and qualified as a doctor in 1850. A popular

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

, Blanchet entered politics with his election as

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

of Notre-Dame-de-la-Victoire, now part of

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, ...

(then

Canada East Canada East () was the northeastern portion of the Province of Canada. Lord Durham's Report investigating the causes of the Upper and Lower Canada Rebellions recommended merging those two colonies. The new colony, known as the Province of ...

) in 1845 at the age of 25. With the

Province of Canada The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in British North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report ...

on military alert due to the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, Blanchet joined the

militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

and raised a battalion to defend the frontier against raids from the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. During the Fenian Raids of 1866 and 1870, he was in command of the militia on the south shore of the

St. Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawren ...

. Blanchet was 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 ...

and first ran for election to the Legislative Assembly in 1857 but was defeated. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly for Lévis in 1861 and 1863. He supported

Canadian Confederation Canadian Confederation () was the process by which three British North American provinces—the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick—were united into one federation, called the Name of Canada#Adoption of Dominion, Dominion of Ca ...

as a means of defending

British North America British North America comprised the colonial territories of the British Empire in North America from 1783 onwards. English colonisation of North America began in the 16th century in Newfoundland, then further south at Roanoke and Jamestown, ...

against possible attack by the

. He was concurrently elected in the 1867 federal election to the new

and to the Quebec Legislative Assembly. Under the law of the day, he was allowed to be a member of both legislatures at the same time. He became Speaker of the provincial legislature and served in that position for two terms. In the federal House of Commons, Blanchet was appointed by

John A. Macdonald Sir John Alexander Macdonald (10 or 11January 18156June 1891) was the first prime minister of Canada, serving from 1867 to 1873 and from 1878 until his death in 1891. He was the dominant figure of Canadian Confederation, and had a political ...

to the parliamentary committee to investigate allegations related to the

Pacific Scandal The Pacific Scandal was a political scandal in Canada involving large sums of money paid by private interests to the Conservative Party to cover election expenses in the 1872 Canadian federal election in order to influence the bidding for a natio ...

in 1873. The federal election law was changed in 1874 to prohibit members of Parliament (MPs) from concurrently sitting in a provincial legislature. Blanchet chose to resign his seat in the federal House of Commons. After losing his seat in the Quebec legislature to the much younger

Étienne-Théodore Pâquet Étienne-Théodore Pâquet (; January 8, 1850 – May 26, 1916) was a French-Canadian civil law notary,provincial politician and civil servant. In 1879, he was one of four Liberal Party of Quebec, Liberal Members of the Legislative Assembly of ...

in the 1875 Quebec provincial election, he won a federal

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 1875 and returned to Ottawa as MP for Bellechasse. In the 1878 federal election, he ran in his old riding of Lévis. The election returned the Conservatives to power, and Macdonald nominated Blanchet to be

. Due to the tradition of alternating between English and French Speakers after each election, he returned to the

backbench In Westminster and other parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a member of parliament (MP) or a legislator who occupies no governmental office and is not a frontbench spokesperson in the Opposition, being instead simply a member of t ...

es following the 1882 election despite a successful term as Speaker. In 1883, he resigned from Parliament in order to accept a position as Collector of Customs for the

Port of Quebec The Port of Quebec () is an inland port located in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. It is the oldest port in Canada, and the second largest in Quebec after the Port of Montreal. History In the 19th century, the Port of Quebec was one of the most im ...

and served in that position until his death at Lévis in 1890 at the age of 60. He was buried in the crypt of Notre-Dame Church of Lévis.

Electoral record

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Blanchet, Joseph-Goderic 1829 births 1890 deaths 19th-century Canadian physicians People of the Fenian raids Conservative Party of Quebec MNAs Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) MPs 19th-century mayors of places in Quebec Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Quebec Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from Canada East Speakers of the House of Commons of Canada Presidents of the National Assembly of Quebec 19th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada 19th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Quebec