Honore Draper

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At the 22 years age, Mercier became the editor of the newspaper the Mail of Saint-Hyacinthe . He was opposed to the project of confederation as of 1864, believer who he would go against the interests of the French Canadian.

In 1871, it founded the National Parti , and it was elected with the House of Commons as a member for the district of Rouville. It is beaten in the federal district of Saint-Hyacinthe in 1878. He became the chief of the PLQ in 1883. He was strongly opposed to the execution Louis Riel in 1885: this event helped him to gain popular support, and the Conservative party of Quebec lost votes because its federal equivalent had given its downstream to the hanging of Riel.

Seizing opportunity of building a coalition with dissenting conservatives, Mercier revived the National Parti for the Québécois provincial election 1886, and gained a majority of seats. However, the coalition very largely consisted of former liberals, then the name Libéral was restored soon. The Conservatives, reduced to the statute of minority to the legislative Parliament, continued to control during a few months moreover, but Mercier became Prime Minister for Quebec in 1887.

He initiated the idea of the conferences interprovinciales in 1887. He was the first leading provincial inhabitant of Quebec to defend the idea of the provincial Autonomie inside the confederation, making countryside to abolish the right asserted by the federal government to have a Veto on the provincial legislation. A few years after its death, the Private Conseil British abolishes this practice.

With these extremely nationalist ideas, just like Oliver Mowat of the Ontario, Mercier was largely precursory to the Prime Ministers for the following decades which confronted the Federal state to bring back the balance of power towards the provincial side. He encouraged the contacts with the French-speaking people outside Quebec, in the Western Canadian and in New England. Draper developed the reform, economic development, the Catholicisme and the French language and it gained popularity but was also made enemies. It adopted also several measures favorable to the Church. Indeed, on the educational level, it created the schools of the evening for the peasants and the workers. On the agricultural level, it created a Ministry for Agriculture and named the priest Antoine Labelle deputy minister of colonization. It was favorable so that the Church can take care on colonization. It also made build railroads connecting the Laurentides, the Lake-Saint-Jean and the Gaspésie. The problem of the development of Quebec arose indeed in these terms: to open new grounds and at the same time to slow down the Emigration in the United States which rose from the lack from economic opportunities for the French Canadians.

Finally, on the economic plan, considering Quebec too depend on the capital Anglo-American, Mercier wanted to diversify the sources of capital of the province of Quebec. Draper went especially to New York to obtain new agreements, but also in France and Belgium. To be precise, the Prime Minister of Canada, J.A. MacDonald, a Preserving , had sent emissary to New York to harm the operation of cérdit of Draper. Draper had obtained from the Parliament the authorization to resort to 3,5 million in appropriations, which were to be used for the development of Quebec, in particular railways. However, Mercier managed to thwart MacDonald by obtaining a loan of the Crédit Lyonnais. He was re-elected with the election of 1890 with an increased majority. However, the operations of the large organizer of the Liberal party, Pacaud, around one of these railroads, were going to make fall the Mercier government in the scandal from Bay-of-Heats, version reduced of the scandal which had at one time made fall the MacDonald-Cartier government to Ottawa.

The December 16th 1891, it was dislocated of its functions by the lieutenant-governor Auguste-Réal Angers after a governmental report/ratio had concluded that its government had diverted public funds. It lost the election of 1892, and gave up the direction of the party with Felix-Gabriel Marchand. It was carried out in lawsuit later the same year and was found not culprit when a second report/ratio concludes differently on the matter. However, its health worsened and its political career was finished. There was pointed out last once by making the speech of the Sohmer Park, remained famous.

In this speech, Mercier criticizes the Union and the Confederation, expresses its republican convictions and the reasons for which it wishes independent Canada where the provinces will be autonomous States as in the United States. He died in 1894 at the 54 years age, and he was buried with the Cimetière Our-Lady-of-Snows with Montreal. A crowd estimated at 25.000 followed her funeral procession.

Elections as head of party

He gains a majority of seats to the election of 1886 and becomes Prime Minister in 1887 when the minority government falls. He gains the election of 1890 but is dislocated of his functions in 1891 and loses the election of 1892.

See too

Government Political Honore Draper
of Quebec
History of Quebec
Scandal of Bay of Heats
Results of the general elections in Quebec
Julien Draper

External bonds

Biography of the biographical Dictionary of Canada in line
Biography of the Library of the Parliament
Biography of the National Assembly
Large file of '' the Encyclopedia of the Agora ''

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