Olivier Robitaille

Who was Olivier Robitaille?

Olivier Robitaille was a physician and businessman in Lower Canada. He was mayor of Quebec City from January 1856 to January 1857.

He was born at Quebec in 1811, the son of craftsman Étienne Robitaille, and studied at the Petit Séminaire de Québec. He trained in medicine with Joseph Morrin, working as an intern at the Marine and Emigrant Hospital. He received his MD from Harvard University in 1838, was qualified to practice in Lower Canada later that year and set up practice in Quebec City. He also served as visiting physician for the Marine and Emigrant Hospital, serving on its board, and was physician for the Quebec jail.

Although sympathetic to the Patriote cause, he did not take part in the Lower Canada Rebellion. Robitaille helped found the Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste at Quebec in 1842. In 1844, he married Zoé-Louise, the daughter of Claude Dénéchau. He was elected to city council in 1851, serving until 1856. Robitaille was selected as mayor by the members of city council in 1856; during his term in office, a bill was passed in the legislative assembly allowing citizens to elect their mayor. He helped found the Caisse d’Épargnes de Notre-Dame de Québec and served as its first president. Robitaille also helped found the Banque Nationale. After the death of his first wife, he married Charlotte Verchères de Boucherville, the widow of lawyer Pierre-Auguste Quesnel, in 1859.