Albiny Paquette

Who was Albiny Paquette?

Joseph-Henri-Albiny Paquette was a Quebec politician and physician. He was a cabinet minister for 17 years in Maurice Duplessis' Union Nationale government.

Born in Marieville, Quebec, Paquette studied in medical sciences at the Montreal campus of Université Laval. After additional studies and training at Bellevue Hospital in New York City, Paquette worked first for the Canadian Red Cross in the Balkans, then in the Canadian Forces as a Medical Officer. He also served at several hospitals in Europe including in Paris and in England.

Paquette returned to Quebec in 1919 and practiced medicine in Mont-Laurier until his entry into municipal politics and his nine-year stint as mayor of that city.

Paquette was first elected to the Legislative Assembly of Quebec for the district of Labelle in the 1935 general election as a member of the Conservative Party. He was reelected, as a member of the Union Nationale, in all six subsequent elections from 1936 to 1956. Paquette remained as the Legislative Assembly Member for Labelle until he resigned in 1958. He served from 1936 to 1939 and 1944 to 1958 as Minister of Health in the Duplessis Cabinet.