William Ferdinand Alphonse Turgeon, (June 3, 1877 – January 11, 1969) 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 and judge in the Province of Saskatchewan. He also served as a diplomat for the

Government of Canada The Government of Canada (), formally His Majesty's Government (), is the body responsible for the federation, federal administration of Canada. The term ''Government of Canada'' refers specifically to the executive, which includes Minister of t ...

Early life

Turgeon was born in Petit-Rocher,

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 prominent Canadian politician Onésiphore Turgeon. His brother, James Gray Turgeon, was also a politician in

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

. The three family members held public office concurrently between the years 1911 and 1921.''Winnipeg Free Press'', 13 January 1969, p. 10. Turgeon received his early education in New York, and was awarded a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree from Université Laval in 1900. He was called to the New Brunswick Bar in 1902. He moved to

Prince Albert, Saskatchewan Prince Albert is the third-largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada, after Saskatoon and Regina, Saskatchewan, Regina. It is situated near the centre of the province on the banks of the North Saskatchewan River. The city is known as the "Gateway ...

, the judicial centre for the North-West Territories, where he started a law practice and became a Crown prosecutor.

Politician

He was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan for the ridings of Prince Albert City (1907–1908), Duck Lake (1908–1912), and Humboldt (1912–1921). From 1912 to 1918, he was the Provincial Secretary. From 1907 to 1921, he was the Attorney General. He is credited with having created the foundations of administrative and municipal legislation in the province.

Justice of the Court of Appeal

From 1921 to 1938, he was a Justice of the

Saskatchewan Court of Appeal The Court of Appeal for Saskatchewan (SKCA) is a Court system of Canada#Appellate courts of the provinces and territories, Canadian appellate court. Jurisdiction and structure The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal is the highest court in the provin ...

and from 1938 to 1941 he was th
Chief Justice of Saskatchewan.
In 1941, he was sworn into the King's Privy Council for Canada.

Diplomat

From 1941 to 1957, he held diplomatic posts mostly as the Canadian ambassador to

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

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Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, and

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

. After returning to Canada, he undertook a one-man inquiry into the Workers Compensation Board of Manitoba in 1958.

Honours

In 1940, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws from the University of Saskatchewan. In 1967, he was made an Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

"for over a half century of service to his country". The W.F.A. Turgeon Catholic Community School in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan is named in his honour.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Turgeon, William 1877 births 1969 deaths Politicians of Acadian descent Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Officers of the Order of Canada People from Gloucester County, New Brunswick Judges in Saskatchewan Saskatchewan Liberal Party MLAs Université Laval alumni Attorneys general of Saskatchewan Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada) Ambassadors of Canada to Argentina Ambassadors of Canada to Chile Ambassadors of Canada to Mexico Ambassadors of Canada to Belgium Ambassadors of Canada to Luxembourg High commissioners of Canada to Ireland Ambassadors of Canada to Ireland Ambassadors of Canada to Portugal Canadian King's Counsel 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan