Eugène-Étienne Taché

Who was Eugène-Étienne Taché?

Eugène-Étienne Taché was a French Canadian surveyor, civil engineer, illustrator and architect. He devised Quebec's provincial coat-of-arms and motto Je me souviens.

As the son of cabinet minister Étienne-Paschal Taché, Eugène-Étienne Taché's early education was quite extensive, but also took place in various locations because of movements to the government. Thus he studied in both the Petit Séminaire de Québec and at Upper Canada College in Toronto, Ontario. In 1856, Taché took a three year course in surveying, and in the course of his education successively studied under Frederick Preston Rubidge, Walter Shanly, and finally Charles Baillairgé. In 1861 he began working for the Department of Crown Lands, and in 1869 he became the assistant commissioner of Crown lands for Quebec, a position in which he was subordinate only to the elected minister of Crown Lands. He held this post until his death.

During his time as assistant commissioner, Taché also did extensive architectural work. Although he hadn't studied it formally, Taché learned a great deal from books and journals that he read. He designed the second-Empire style Parliament Building with three towers in Quebec City from spring 1876-1887.