Paul Comtois (August 22, 1895 – February 21, 1966) 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 ...

politician. Born in Pierreville,

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, ...

, the son of Urbain Comtois and Elizabeth McCaffrey, he ran unsuccessfully for 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 ...

in the 1930 federal election and in a 1933

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 ...

. He was elected in 1957 election for the riding of Nicolet—Yamaska. A Progressive Conservative, he was re-elected in the 1958 election. From 1957 to 1961, he was the

Minister of Mines and Technical Surveys The Minister of Mines and Technical Surveys was a position in the Canadian Cabinet from 1950 to 1966. The former offices of Minister of Mines and Resources and Minister of Reconstruction and Supply were abolished by Statute 13 Geo. VI, c. 18, an ...

. In 1961, he was appointed the 21st

Lieutenant Governor of Quebec The lieutenant governor of Quebec (; , ) is the representative in Quebec of the monarch, who Monarchy in Quebec, operates distinctly within the province but is also shared equally with the Canadian federalism, ten other jurisdictions of Canada. T ...

. He served until 1966, when he was killed in a fire that destroyed his

official residence An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless of whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority (either their own or that of th ...

. While trying to save the

Blessed Sacrament The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an ordinance in others. Christians believe that the rite was instituted by J ...

from the private chapel, he was overcome by the flames. The only objects he was able to recover were cruets, presumably because he found the tabernacle was locked.Bernard Pothier viewed the objects found under Comtois' remains and reported his findings in Challenge magazine.

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Assemblée nationale du Québec biography
1895 births 1966 deaths Accidental deaths in Quebec Lieutenant governors of Quebec Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Quebec Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Progressive Conservative Party of Canada MPs Deaths from fire Politicians from Centre-du-Québec 20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada {{Canada-viceroy-stub