Joseph Bolduc

Who was Joseph Bolduc?

Joseph Bolduc, PC was Speaker of the Canadian Senate from 1916 to 1922.

He was born in Beauce County, Canada East in 1847, the son of Augustin Bolduc, and was educated at College Sainte-Marie and Université Laval. He graduated as a public notary in 1874 but also earned his living as a farmer and businessman.

In 1874, Bolduc married M.A.G. Mathier. He became a leading member of his community and successfully promoted the construction of a railway connecting his home town of St. Victor de Tring with the rest of the province and the eastern seaboard. He was elected mayor of his town and then warden of Beauce.

In 1876 he was elected in a by-election to the Canadian House of Commons representing the riding of Beauce, Quebec for the Conservative Party. He was re-elected in 1878 and 1882.

He resigned his seat in the House of Commons upon being appointed to the Senate on October 3, 1884.

In 1910, he crossed party lines to support the controversial Laurier government's Naval Services Bill which created the Royal Canadian Navy.