Athanase Gaudet was a farmer, merchant and political figure in Quebec

Quebec

Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

. He represented Nicolet

Nicolet (electoral district)

Nicolet was a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1867 to 1935.It was created by the British North America Act of 1867 which preserved existing electoral districts in Lower Canada. It consisted of the County of Nicolet. From 1903...

 in the Canadian House of Commons

Canadian House of Commons

The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...

 from 1884 to 1888 as a Nationalist Conservative

Nationalist Conservative

The label Nationalist Conservative was used by several Quebec Members of the Canadian Parliament and several unsuccessful candidates. They used this label in order to distinguish themselves from the British imperialist reputation of the Conservative Party or as a result of disputes with the...

 member.

He was born in Gentilly

Gentilly, Quebec

Gentilly is a community a couple minutes away from the city of Bécancour, Quebec. It is one of the major population centres within the city. Among other things, it is also home to Gentilly Nuclear Generating Station....

, Canada East

Canada East

Canada East was the eastern portion of the United Province of Canada. It consisted of the southern portion of the modern-day Canadian Province of Quebec, and was primarily a French-speaking region....

, the son of Joseph Gaudet

Joseph Gaudet

Joseph Gaudet was a Quebec farmer and political figure. He represented Nicolet in the Canadian House of Commons as a Conservative Party of Canada member from 1867 to 1877...

 and Deneige Levasseur, and was educated at the Séminaire de Nicolet. In 1887, he married Sara Poissin. He was elected to the House of Commons in an 1884 by-election held after François-Xavier-Ovide Méthot was named to the Quebec Legislative Council. Gaudet died in office at the age of 39. Gaudet also served as mayor of Gentilly from 1882 to 1888 and was a captain in the militia.