Frédéric Houde was a journalist, newspaper editor 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 Maskinongé

Maskinongé (electoral district)

Maskinongé was a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1867 to 1925.It was created by the British North America Act of 1867, and was amalgamated into the Berthier—Maskinongé electoral district in 1924.-Members of Parliament:This...

 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 1878 to 1884 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 Saint-Antoine-de-la-Rivière-du-Loup

Louiseville, Quebec

Louiseville is a town in the Mauricie region of the province of Quebec in Canada. It is located near the mouth of the Wolf River on the north shore of Lac Saint-Pierre....

, 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 Antoine Houde and Angèle Descoteaux, and was educated at the Séminaire de Nicolet. In 1868, he became an associate editor for Le Constitutionnel in Trois-Rivières

Trois-Rivières

Trois-Rivières means three rivers in French and may refer to:in Canada*Trois-Rivières, the largest city in the Mauricie region of Quebec, Canada*Circuit Trois-Rivières, a racetrack in Trois-Rivières, Quebec...

. From 1869 to 1875, he worked on a number of French language newspapers in New England

New England

New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...

. In 1874, he married Catherine Dougherty. After his return to Quebec, Houde became editor of Le Nouveau Monde; he became owner in 1879. In 1882, he published an article critical of Archbishop Elzéar-Alexandre Taschereau

Elzéar-Alexandre Taschereau

Elzéar-Alexandre Taschereau was a Canadian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Quebec from 1871 until his death in 1898...

. He was asked by Bishop Édouard-Charles Fabre

Édouard-Charles Fabre

Édouard-Charles Fabre was Archbishop of Montreal in 1886 and of Sherbrooke and Saint-Hyacinthe in 1887.Fabre was the eldest of 11 children in an important Montreal business family...

 to retract the article but instead chose to leave journalism. Houde served as a lieutenant-colonel for the Trois-Rivières militia. He died in office at the age of 37 after contracting tuberculosis

Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...

.

His uncle Moïse Houde

Moïse Houde

Moïse Houde was a politician in the Quebec, Canada. He served as Member of the Legislative Assembly.-Early life:...

represented Maskinongé in the legislative assemblies for the Province of Canada and for Quebec.