Joseph-Napoléon Francoeur

Who was Joseph-Napoléon Francoeur?

Joseph-Napoléon Francoeur was a lawyer, judge and political figure in Quebec. He represented Lotbinière in the Legislative Assembly of Quebec from 1908 to 1936 and Lotbinière in the Canadian House of Commons from 1937 to 1940 as a Liberal. Francoeur was Speaker of the Legislative Assembly from 1919 to 1928.

He was born in Cap-Saint-Ignace, Quebec, the son of Auguste Francoeur and Avila Caron, and was educated at the Séminaire de Québec and the Université Laval. He was admitted to the Quebec bar in 1904 and set up practice in Quebec City. Francoeur practised in partnership with Philippe Auguste Choquette, Antonin Galipeault and Thomas Vien, among others. In 1913, he was named King's Counsel.

He ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the Quebec assembly in 1904 before being elected in 1908. In 1918, he prepared the Francœur Motion in response to anti-Quebec sentiment following the conscription crisis during World War I. Francoeur served in the provincial cabinet as Minister of Public Works and Labour from 1930 to 1931, as Minister of Public Works from 1931 to 1936 and as Minister of Mines and Minister of Labour from 1935 to 1936. He was defeated when he ran for reelection to the provincial assembly in 1936.