Sauveur Marcoux (May 2, 1893 – November 16, 1951) was a politician in

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. He served in the

Legislative Assembly of Manitoba The Legislative Assembly of Manitoba () is the deliberative assembly of the Manitoba Legislature in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. Fifty-seven members are elected to this assembly at List of Manitoba genera ...

as a

Liberal-Progressive Liberal-Progressive was a label used by a number of candidates in Canadian elections between 1925 and 1953. In federal and Ontario politics there was no Liberal-Progressive Party, as such. The term generally referred to candidates endorsed by Lib ...

from 1936 until the time of his death, and was a

cabinet minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ' prime minister', ' p ...

in the governments of

John Bracken John Bracken (22 June 1883 – 18 March 1969) was a Canadian agronomist and politician who was the 11th and longest-serving premier of Manitoba (1922–1943) and later the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (1942–194 ...

Stuart Garson Stuart Sinclair Garson (December 1, 1898 – May 5, 1977) was a Canadian politician and lawyer. He served as the 12th premier of Manitoba from 1943 to 1948, and later became a Federal cabinet minister. Life and career Born in St. Cathari ...

and Douglas Campbell. The son of Leon Marcoux and Adeline Ferland, Marcoux was born in Lorette,

, was educated in Lorette and St. Boniface, and worked as a farmer. He served as reeve for the

Rural Municipality of Taché Taché () is a rural municipality in Manitoba, Canada, incorporated in 1880. Named after the Bishop Taché (one of the first bishops in Manitoba), it is located to the south-east of Winnipeg, stretching from the Red River Floodway in the west t ...

and was an active member of l'Association des Canadiens-Français du Manitoba and in l'Association des Commissaires d'écoles Canadiens-Français du Manitoba. He was also a member of the Laurier Club and the Canadian Club. He was a Liberal by background, and became a member of the Liberal-Progressives following the merger of the two constituent parties. In 1920, Marcoux married Eloria Normandeau. He was first elected to the Manitoba legislature in the 1936 provincial election, defeating

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 ...

candidate Joseph Hamelin by 830 votes in the La Verendrye constituency. He was appointed to Bracken's cabinet on September 27, 1936, as a

minister without portfolio A minister without portfolio is a government minister without specific responsibility as head of a government department. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet with decision-making authorit ...

, representing the interests of Manitoba's francophone community. Marcoux was re-elected in the 1941 provincial election, defeating a

Social Credit Social credit is a distributive philosophy of political economy developed in the 1920s and 1930s by C. H. Douglas. Douglas attributed economic downturns to discrepancies between the cost of goods and the compensation of the workers who made t ...

candidate by 490 votes. He increased his majority in the 1945 election, and defeated independent candidate E.J.R. Arpin by 373 votes in the 1949 campaign. After serving as a minister without portfolio for over twelve years (perhaps a Canadian record), Marcoux was promoted to Municipal Commissioner by Premier Douglas Campbell on December 14, 1948. He served in this portfolio until his death, in St. Boniface in November 1951.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marcoux, Sauveur 1893 births 1951 deaths People from Dugald, Manitoba Manitoba Liberal Party MLAs 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba