Denis-Benjamin Viger
Encyclopedia
Lower Canada
The Province of Lower Canada was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence...
politician, lawyer, businessman, and Patriote movement
Patriote movement
The Patriote movement was a political movement that existed in Lower Canada from the turning of the 19th century to the Patriote Rebellion of 1837 and 1838 and the subsequent Act of Union of 1840. It was politically embodied by the Parti patriote at the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada...
member.
Viger was part of the militia
Militia
The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...
in the early 19th century and then a captain in the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
. He retired from the militia in 1824 with the rank of major.
Biography
Viger was born in MontrealMontreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
to Denis Viger
Denis Viger
Denis Viger was a carpenter, businessman and political figure in Lower Canada.He was born in Montreal in 1741, the son of a shoemaker. He worked as a carpenter and also carved wooden objects for the church at Saint-Denis. In 1772, he married Périne-Charles, the daughter of François-Pierre...
and Périne-Charles Cherrier. His father had represented Montreal East
Montreal East (electoral district)
Montreal East was a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1867 to 1892.It was created by the British North America Act of 1867. It consisted of the St. Lewis Ward, St. James Ward and the St. Mary's Ward. It was abolished in 1892...
district in the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada
Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada
The Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada was the lower house of the bicameral structure of provincial government in Lower Canada until 1838. The legislative assembly was created by the Constitutional Act of 1791...
from 1796 to 1800. In 1808, he married the 30-year-old daughter of Pierre Foretier
Pierre Foretier
Pierre Foretier was a fur trader, seigneur and official in Lower Canada.He was born in Montreal in 1738, the son of a shoemaker who died when Pierre was nine. He became a merchant supplying goods to fur traders. In 1764, he married Thérèse Legrand, daughter of a Montreal merchant...
, Marie-Amable Foretier. They had one child who died in 1814.
He was elected to the Legislative Assembly for Montreal East in 1808 and 1810, then in Leinster in 1810 and 1814 and in Kent in 1816, 1820, 1824 and 1827.
Prominent in the Patriote movement
Patriote movement
The Patriote movement was a political movement that existed in Lower Canada from the turning of the 19th century to the Patriote Rebellion of 1837 and 1838 and the subsequent Act of Union of 1840. It was politically embodied by the Parti patriote at the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada...
and denounced as the owner of seditious newspapers, Viger was imprisoned in 1838 when martial law
Martial law
Martial law is the imposition of military rule by military authorities over designated regions on an emergency basis— only temporary—when the civilian government or civilian authorities fail to function effectively , when there are extensive riots and protests, or when the disobedience of the law...
was imposed in Lower Canada; refusing to post bail
Bail
Traditionally, bail is some form of property deposited or pledged to a court to persuade it to release a suspect from jail, on the understanding that the suspect will return for trial or forfeit the bail...
in protest of the repressive martial law and demanding a regular trial, he was not released until May 1840.
In 1841, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly of the United Canadas
Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada
The Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada was the lower house of the legislature for the Province of Canada, which consisted of the former provinces of Lower Canada, then known as Canada East and later the province of Quebec, and Upper Canada, then known as Canada West and later the...
representing Richelieu
Richelieu (electoral district)
Richelieu 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 and was amalgamated into the Richelieu—Verchères electoral district in 1933.In 1968, a new electoral district...
. From December 12, 1843 to June 17, 1846 he was one of the Joint Premiers of the Province of Canada
Joint Premiers of the Province of Canada
Joint Premiers of the Province of Canada were the leaders of the Province of Canada, from the 1841 unification of Upper Canada and Lower Canada until Confederation in 1867....
. He was elected in a by-election to represent Trois-Rivières
Trois-Rivières (electoral district)
Trois-Rivières is an electoral district in Quebec, Canada that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1867 to 1892 and from 1935 to the present....
in 1845 but resigned in 1847. He was appointed to the Legislative Council
Legislative Council of the Province of Canada
The Legislative Council of the Province of Canada was the upper house for the Province of Canada, which consisted of the former provinces of Lower Canada, then known as Canada East and later the province of Quebec, and Upper Canada, then known as Canada West and later the province of Ontario...
in 1848 but lost his seat due to non-attendance in 1858. Viger died in Montreal in 1861.