Hector-Louis Langevin
Encyclopedia
Queen's Privy Council for Canada
The Queen's Privy Council for Canada ), sometimes called Her Majesty's Privy Council for Canada or simply the Privy Council, is the full group of personal consultants to the monarch of Canada on state and constitutional affairs, though responsible government requires the sovereign or her viceroy,...
, KCMG, CB
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
, QC
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...
(August 25, 1826 – June 11, 1906) was a Canadian lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
, politician and one of the Fathers of Confederation.
Langevin was born in Quebec City
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
in 1826. He studied law and was called to the bar in 1850. In 1856, he was elected to the municipal council of Quebec City and was mayor from 1858 to 1861. In 1857, he was elected Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Dorchester
Dorchester (electoral district)
Dorchester was a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1867 to 1968.It was created by the British North America Act of 1867 which preserved the existing electoral districts in Lower Canada at the time...
in the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada
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...
as a member of the Conservative Party
Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and, after the 1970s, a centrist stance on social issues....
. He held various positions in Cabinet, including Solicitor General (1864–66), Postmaster General
Postmaster General of Canada
The Postmaster General of Canada was the Canadian cabinet minister responsible for the Post Office Department . In 1851, management of the post office was transferred from Britain to the provincial governments of the Province of Canada, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward...
(1866–67), Secretary of State for Canada
Secretary of State for Canada
The position of Secretary of State for Canada was a Canadian Cabinet position with a corresponding department. It was established in 1867 as the official channel of communication between the Dominion of Canada and the Imperial government in London...
(1867–69), Superintendent-General of Indian Affairs (1868–69) and Minister of Public Works
Minister of Public Works (Canada)
The position of Minister of Public Works existed as part of the Cabinet of Canada from Confederation to 1995.As part of substantial governmental reorganization, the position was merged with that of the Minister of Supply and Services to create the position of Minister of Public Works and Government...
(1869–73). Langevin also attended all three conferences leading up to Confederation
Canadian Confederation
Canadian Confederation was the process by which the federal Dominion of Canada was formed on July 1, 1867. On that day, three British colonies were formed into four Canadian provinces...
. He left politics in 1873 due to his role in the Pacific Scandal
Pacific Scandal
The Pacific Scandal was a political scandal in Canada involving allegations of bribes being accepted by the Conservative government in the attempts of private interests to influence the bidding for a national rail contract...
.
In 1876, he was re-elected in the riding of Charlevoix
Charlevoix (electoral district)
Charlevoix was a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1867 to 1917 and from 1949 to 2004....
. His opponent contested the election and it was declared invalid, but he won the subsequent by-election in 1877. He was defeated in Rimouski
Rimouski (electoral district)
Rimouski was a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1867 to 2003....
in 1878 but elected by acclamation in the riding of Trois-Rivières in the same year. Langevin became Minister of Public Works again in 1879. He lobbied behind the scenes against the hanging of Louis Riel
Louis Riel
Louis David Riel was a Canadian politician, a founder of the province of Manitoba, and a political and spiritual leader of the Métis people of the Canadian prairies. He led two resistance movements against the Canadian government and its first post-Confederation Prime Minister, Sir John A....
in 1885 and was one of the few Conservatives Members of Parliament to survive the resulting backlash in the province of 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....
in 1887.
He was promised the post of Lieutenant Governor of Quebec
Lieutenant Governor of Quebec
The Lieutenant Governor of Quebec : Lieutenant-gouverneur du Québec, or : Lieutenant-gouverneure du Québec) is the viceregal representative in Quebec of the Canadian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, who operates distinctly within the province but is also shared equally with the ten other jurisdictions...
by the new Conservative Prime Minister John Abbott if he resigned as Minister of Public Works. Langevin stepped down in 1891 but Abbott appointed Joseph-Adolphe Chapleau
Joseph-Adolphe Chapleau
Sir Joseph-Adolphe Chapleau, PC, KCMG , born in Sainte-Thérèse, Quebec, was a French-Canadian lawyer and politician....
instead. That year, Langevin was implicated with Thomas McGreevy
Thomas McGreevy
Thomas McGreevy was a Canadian politician and contractor.Born in Quebec, he was the son of Robert McGreevy, a blacksmith, and Rose Smith...
in what became known as the "McGreevy-Langevin scandal" over kickbacks to McGreevy associated with federal contracts granted to him by the department of public works overseen by Langevin. He retired to the backbenches and then left politics in 1896.
The Langevin Block
Langevin Block
The Langevin Block is an office building facing Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Canada. As the home of the Privy Council Office and Office of the Prime Minister, it is the working headquarters of the executive branch of the Canadian government...
on Parliament Hill
Parliament Hill
Parliament Hill , colloquially known as The Hill, is an area of Crown land on the southern banks of the Ottawa River in downtown Ottawa, Ontario. Its Gothic revival suite of buildingsthe parliament buildings serves as the home of the Parliament of Canada and contains a number of architectural...
was named in his honour, as was the Langevin Bridge
Langevin Bridge
The Langevin Bridge is a bridge in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It connects Downtown Calgary with north-central Calgary communities such as Bridgeland and Crescent Heights, by spanning the Bow River between 4th Avenue South and Memorial Drive....
in Calgary
Calgary
Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
.
Langevin's group of medals were sold at auction in Ottawa on 18 May 2010 for $8000.00
His brother, Jean Langevin
Jean Langevin
Jean-Pierre-François-Laforce Langevin, , was born and lived his life in Quebec. He was taught by a governess before entering the Petit Séminaire de Quebec. He began his studies for the priesthood at the Grand Séminaire and taught back at his old school, a vocation he continued after he was ordained...
was a Roman Catholic bishop.