Hector Laferté

Who was Hector Laferté?

Hector Laferté was a lawyer and political figure in Quebec. He represented Drummond in the Legislative Assembly of Quebec from 1919 to 1934 as a Liberal. Laferté was Speaker of the Legislative Assembly from 1924 to 1929.

He was born in Saint-Germain-de-Grantham, Drummond County, Quebec, the son of Joseph Laferté and Georgianna-Jeanne Tessier. Laferté was educated at the Collège de Nicolet and the Université Laval, was admitted to the Quebec bar in 1909 and set up practice in Quebec City in partnership with Antonin Galipeault, Philippe-Auguste Choquette, Louis Saint-Laurent and Ernest Lapointe, among others. He was parliamentary correspondent for La Libre parole. In 1911, he married Irène Sénécal. In 1919, Laferté was named Queen's Counsel.

He was first elected to the Quebec assembly in the 1916 election and was re-elected multiple times. He served in the provincial cabinet as Minister of Colonization and Minister of Mines and Fisheries from 1929 to 1934. In 1934, Laferté resigned his seat in the Quebec assembly after being named to the Legislative Council of Quebec for Stadacona division, serving until the council was abolished in 1968. He served as speaker for the council from 1934 to 1936, from 1940 to 1944 and from 1960 to 1966.