Michel Mathieu, (December 20, 1838 – July 30, 1916) was a

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, ...

lawyer,

notary A notary is a person authorised to perform acts in legal affairs, in particular witnessing signatures on documents. The form that the notarial profession takes varies with local legal systems. A notary, while a legal professional, is distin ...

, judge and political figure. He 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 ...

Member of Parliament who represented Richelieu from 1872 to 1874. He was born in Sorel,

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 1838. He articled as a notary, becoming a member of the Sorel Board of Notaries in 1864. In 1865, he was called to the

Bar of Quebec The Bar of Quebec () is the regulatory body for the practice of advocates in the Canadian province of Quebec and one of two legal regulatory bodies in the province. It was founded on May 30, 1849, as the Bar of Lower Canada (). History The begi ...

and he was appointed sheriff in the Richelieu district in 1866. In 1872, he was elected to the House of Commons; he was defeated in 1874. In 1875, he was elected to the

Quebec National Assembly The National Assembly of Quebec (, ) is the legislative body of the province of Quebec in Canada. Legislators are called MNAs (Members of the National Assembly; ). The lieutenant governor of Quebec (representing the King of Canada) and the Nat ...

for Richelieu in 1875 and 1878. He also served as mayor of Sorel from 1876 to 1882. In 1881, he resigned his seat in the provincial legislature to serve as judge in the

Quebec Superior Court The Superior Court of Quebec () is a superior trial court in the Province of Quebec, in Canada. It consists of 157 judges who are appointed by the federal government. Appeals from this court are taken to the Quebec Court of Appeal. Jurisdictio ...

, serving in Joliette and Montreal districts until 1909. In 1880, he was appointed

Queen's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

. He was professor of law at the

Université Laval (; English: ''Laval University)'' is a public research university in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The university traces its roots to the Séminaire de Québec, founded by François de Montmorency-Laval in 1663, making it the oldest institutio ...

at Montreal from 1886 to 1915. In 1892, he was appointed to a royal commission in the province to investigate allegations of corruption in the government of

Honoré Mercier Honoré Mercier (October 15, 1840 – October 30, 1894) was a Canadian lawyer, journalist and politician in Quebec. He was the ninth premier of Quebec from January 27, 1887, to December 21, 1891, as leader of the Parti National or Quebec Libera ...

; he did not complete this task due to health problems. In 1869, with Adolphe Germain, he founded ''La Revue légale'', a legal periodical; in 1884, it was purchased by Amédée Périard but Mathieu continued as editor until 1892. He published a weekly newspaper in Sorel, ''Le Courrier de Richelieu'', from 1872 to 1874. He was editor for ''Rapports judiciaires révisés de la province de Québec ...'' (1891–1905), a 29 volume review of judgements by the province's courts. He also published several legal reference books, including editions of the Civil and Municipal codes. Mathieu died at

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

in 1916 and was buried at Sorel.

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mathieu, Michel 1838 births 1916 deaths People from Sorel-Tracy Politicians from Montérégie Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Quebec Conservative Party of Quebec MNAs 19th-century mayors of places in Quebec Judges in Quebec Canadian notaries Canadian King's Counsel 19th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada 19th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Quebec Academic staff of Université Laval