Joseph Henri Picard (February 18, 1857 – May 23, 1934) was a politician in
Alberta
Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...
, Canada and a municipal councillor in
Edmonton
Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...
.
Picard was born in
Saint-Jean-de-Matha,
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 ...
, on February 18, 1857. He apprenticed as a carpenter before coming west in 1884 to
Fort Qu'Appelle
Fort Qu'Appelle () is a town in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan located in the Qu'Appelle River valley north-east of Regina, Saskatchewan, Regina, between Echo Lake (Saskatchewan), Echo and Mission L ...
and then
Regina. In
Calgary
Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...
, he met Father
Albert Lacombe
Albert Lacombe (28 February 1827 – 12 December 1916), known as Father Lacombe, was a French-Canadian Roman Catholic missionary who travelled among and evangelism, evangelized the Cree and also visited the Blackfoot First Nations in Canada, Fi ...
, who suggested to him that he move to Edmonton, which he did in 1887. Once in Edmonton, he opened a general store, Larue & Picard; it was sold in 1907 when both he and his partner retired.
In 1903, he married Martine Voyer. The couple had two sons.
His political career began in
1894
Events January
* January 4 – A military alliance is established between the French Third Republic and the Russian Empire.
* January 7 – William Kennedy Dickson receives a patent for motion picture film in the United States.
* Ja ...
when he was elected as an alderman to
Edmonton Town Council
The Edmonton City Council is the governing body of the City of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Edmonton currently has one mayor and twelve city councillors. Elections are held every four years. The most recent was held in 2021, and the next is in 20 ...
, finishing fifth of nine candidates in an election in which the top six were elected. He was re-elected in
1895
Events January
* January 5 – Dreyfus affair: French officer Alfred Dreyfus is stripped of his army rank and sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil's Island (off French Guiana) on what is much later admitted to be a false charge of tr ...
, but defeated in
1896
Events
January
* January 2 – The Jameson Raid comes to an end as Jameson surrenders to the Boers.
* January 4 – Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state.
* January 5 РAn Austrian newspaper reports Wilhelm R̦ntgen's dis ...
, placing seventh of eight candidates. He placed dead last of nine candidates in the
following election, but returned to council in
1897
Events
January
* January 2 – The International Alpha Omicron Pi sorority is founded, in New York City.
* January 4 – A British force is ambushed by Chief Ologbosere, son-in-law of the ruler. This leads to a punitive expedit ...
, placing third of nine candidates.
In
1898
Events
January
* January 1 – New York City annexes land from surrounding counties, creating the City of Greater New York as the world's second largest. The city is geographically divided into five boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queen ...
, when staggered aldermanic terms were introduced, the top three finishers in the election were elected to two year terms, while the bottom three were elected to one year terms. Picard was one of the latter, and ceased to be an alderman in 1899. His next attempt at election took place in
1902
Events
January
* January 1
** The Nurses Registration Act 1901 comes into effect in New Zealand, making it the first country in the world to require state registration of nurses. On January 10, Ellen Dougherty becomes the world's ...
, when he placed last of five candidates. He was elected again in
1903
Events January
* January 1 – Edward VII is proclaimed Emperor of India.
* January 10 – The Aceh Sultanate was fully annexed by the Dutch forces, deposing the last sultan, marking the end of the Aceh War that have lasted for al ...
, finishing third of nine and being elected to a two-year term. However, this term was truncated when Edmonton became a city in 1904 and a new, eight member
city council
A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...
was elected. In
that year's election, Picard finished sixth of seventeen candidates, and was elected to another one year term (the top four candidates won two year terms). He was re-elected to a two-year term in
1905
As the second year of the massive Russo-Japanese War begins, more than 100,000 die in the largest world battles of that era, and the war chaos leads to the 1905 Russian Revolution against Nicholas II of Russia (Shostakovich's 11th Symphony i ...
, placing fourth of ten candidates.
At the expiration of this term in
1907
Events
January
* January 14 – 1907 Kingston earthquake: A 6.5 Moment magnitude scale, Mw earthquake in Kingston, Jamaica, kills between 800 and 1,000.
February
* February 9 – The "Mud March (suffragists), Mud March", the ...
, Picard ran for mayor, but was defeated by
John Alexander McDougall
John Alexander McDougall (May 20, 1854 – December 17, 1928) was a businessman and politician in Alberta, Canada, He served as a municipal councillor, mayor and a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.
Early Life
John Alexander McDou ...
. He stayed out of politics for seven years thereafter.
In
1914
This year saw the beginning of what became known as the First World War, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip ...
, Picard returned to office, finishing fourth of fourteen candidates. However, he was defeated in his
1916
Events
Below, the events of the First World War have the "WWI" prefix.
January
* January 1 – The British Empire, British Royal Army Medical Corps carries out the first successful blood transfusion, using blood that has been stored ...
re-election bid, finishing seventh of eleven candidates. This marked the end of his career in municipal politics.
Joseph Henri Picard was a member of the Catholic school board from 1899 until 1925, and was also active with the Board of Trade, the Catholic Mutual Benefit Association, the Edmonton Club, the Edmonton Exhibition Board, l'Alliance Française, La Société Saint-Jean Baptiste, La Société du Parler Français, and the
Liberal Party of Alberta
The Alberta Liberal Party () is a provincial political party in Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1905, it is the oldest active political party in Alberta and was the dominant political party until the 1921 election, with the first three provincial ...
.
Picard died May 23, 1934.
École J. H. Picard School
École J.H. Picard School is a K–12 school located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It is presently the only Catholic school in Western Canada that provides French Immersion education from kindergarten to grade 12.
History
The school is named ...
in Edmonton is named in his honour.
References
Edmonton Public Library Biography of Joseph Henri PicardCity of Edmonton biography of Joseph Henri Picard
{{DEFAULTSORT:Picard, Joseph Henri
1857 births
1934 deaths
Edmonton city councillors
Franco-Albertan people
Politicians from Lanaudière