Théotime Blanchard (May 8, 1844 – March 11, 1911) was a teacher, farmer, merchant and politician in the Province of New Brunswick, Canada. He represented Gloucester County from 1870 to 1875 and from 1892 to 1894 in the

Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick The Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick () is the deliberative assembly of the New Brunswick Legislature, in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. The assembly's seat is located in Fredericton. It was established in Saint John ''de jure'' ...

and

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...

in 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 ...

from 1894 to 1900 as 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. He was born in

Caraquet Caraquet ( ) is a town in Gloucester County, New Brunswick, Canada. Situated on the shore of Chaleur Bay in the Acadian Peninsula, its name is derived from the Mi'kmaq term for ''meeting of two rivers''. The Caraquet River and Rivière du Nord ...

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

, the son of Agapit Blanchard and Anne-Marie Poirier, and the grandson of Tranquille Blanchard. He taught school in Neguac and in Caraquet. In 1867, he married Marie Gauvin. Blanchard was later named a justice of the peace. A

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 ...

, in the New Brunswick Legislative Assembly he helped lead the opposition to the Common Schools Act of 1871 that banned religious instruction in the province's school system based on the principle of

Separation of church and state The separation of church and state is a philosophical and Jurisprudence, jurisprudential concept for defining political distance in the relationship between religious organizations and the State (polity), state. Conceptually, the term refers to ...

. Blanchard resigned his seat in the assembly and was appointed inspector of weights and measures for Restigouche County in 1876. From 1887 to 1892, he served as customs inspector at Caraquet. Blanchard was the first

Acadian The Acadians (; , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Today, most descendants of Acadians live in either the Northern American region of Acadia, ...

elected to the provincial assembly and the Canadian House of Commons from Gloucester County. He was defeated by Onésiphore Turgeon when he ran for reelection in 1900 and again in 1904. He died in Bathurst at the age of 66 after being injured in a vehicle accident.

Electoral record

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Blanchard, Theotime 1844 births 1911 deaths Road incident deaths in Canada Businesspeople from New Brunswick Canadian schoolteachers 19th-century Canadian farmers Politicians of Acadian descent Members of the House of Commons of Canada from New Brunswick Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) MPs Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick MLAs Accidental deaths in New Brunswick People from Caraquet Canadian justices of the peace 19th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick 19th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada

Electoral record

See also

References