Jules-Paul Tardivel (2 September 1851 – 24 April 1905) was an American–Canadian writer and a promoter of

Quebec nationalism Quebec nationalism or Québécois nationalism is a feeling and a political doctrine that prioritizes cultural belonging to, the defence of the interests of, and the recognition of the political legitimacy of the Québécois nation. It has been ...

. Tardivel was born in Covington,

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

, and sent to

Saint-Hyacinthe Saint-Hyacinthe ( , ) is a city in southwestern Quebec east of Montreal on the Yamaska River. The population as of the 2021 Canadian census was 57,239. The city is located in Les Maskoutains Regional County Municipality of the Montérégie regi ...

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, ...

, for his classical education in the

French language French ( or ) is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European family. Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. French evolved from Northern Old Gallo-R ...

. Despite learning French only in his late teens, he became a tireless promoter of French Quebec and detractor of

anglicisms An anglicism is a word or construction borrowed from English by another language. Due to the global dominance of English in the 20th and 21st centuries, many English terms have become widespread in other languages. Technology-related English ...

. In July 1874, Tardivel began work in Quebec City on ''Le Canadien'', another paper dedicated to the interests of the Conservative Party. In the 1880s, he founded ''La Verité'', a weekly newspaper extolling his religious, political and social beliefs. Perennial topics included conspiracy theories (typically aimed at

Freemasons Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

socialists Socialism is an economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes the economic, political, and socia ...

communists Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, d ...

freethinkers Freethought (sometimes spelled free thought) is an unorthodox attitude or belief. A freethinker holds that beliefs should not be formed on the basis of authority Authority is commonly understood as the legitimate power of a person or ...

, or any combination thereof), conservative

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

dogma, the domination of Quebec by

English Canada English Canada comprises that part of the population within Canada, whether of British origin or otherwise, that speaks English. The term ''English Canada'' is also used for any of the following: *Describing all the provinces of Canada ...

, and the subversive effects of the

Boy Scout A Scout, Boy Scout, Girl Scout or, in some countries, a Pathfinder is a participant in the Scout Movement, usually aged 10–18 years, who engage in learning scoutcraft and outdoor and other special interest activities. Some Scout organizatio ...

movement. It survived his death, under the editorship of his son, until it ceased publication circa 1920. In the 1890s, he wrote a futuristic ''

roman à clef A ''roman à clef'' ( ; ; ) is a novel about real-life events that is overlaid with a façade of fiction. The fictitious names in the novel represent real people and the "key" is the relationship between the non-fiction and the fiction. This m ...

'' about

Canadian politics The politics of Canada functions within a framework of Parliamentary system, parliamentary democracy and a federation, federal system of Parliament of Canada, parliamentary government with strong democratic traditions. Canada is a constitutio ...

called ''Pour la Patrie'' (translated into English the 1970s as ''For My Country''). In it, he accused

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 ...

, the first

Prime Minister of Canada The prime minister of Canada () is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the Confidence and supply, confidence of a majority of the elected House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons ...

, of being a Freemason who conspired with the

devil A devil is the mythical personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conce ...

to oppress

and to crush the

References

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tardivel, Jules-Paul American emigrants to Canada Critics of Freemasonry Journalists from Quebec Canadian Roman Catholics Canadian male novelists American conspiracy theorists 1851 births 1905 deaths People from Covington, Kentucky Canadian novelists in French Far-right politics in Canada 19th-century Canadian novelists 19th-century male writers Novelists from Quebec

See also

References

External links