Joseph Michel Fournier was a Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 politician. Born in the village of Pointe-Verte, New Brunswick

Pointe-Verte, New Brunswick

Pointe-Verte is a Canadian village in Gloucester County, New Brunswick.Located on Chaleur Bay 30 km north of Bathurst, the village's main industry is lobster and scallop fishing, as well as forestry....

, Michel Fournier was educated at the Academy in Tracadie and graduated in 1927 with a BA

Bachelor of Arts

A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 degree from University of St. Joseph's College in Memramcook

Memramcook, New Brunswick

Memramcook is a Canadian village in Westmorland County, New Brunswick. Located in south-eastern New Brunswick, the community is predominantly people of Acadian descent who speak the Chiac derivative of the French language....

.

A farmer

Farmer

A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, who raises living organisms for food or raw materials, generally including livestock husbandry and growing crops, such as produce and grain...

 who was active in his industry, Michel Fournier was a director of the Green Point Co-Op

Cooperative

A cooperative is a business organization owned and operated by a group of individuals for their mutual benefit...

. Involved in local politics, he served as a Gloucester County

Gloucester County, New Brunswick

Gloucester County is located in the northeastern corner of New Brunswick, Canada. Fishing, mining and forestry are the major industries in the county...

 cousellor from 1935 to 1939.

New Brunswick Legislative Assembly

Fournier was elected to the 40th New Brunswick Legislative Assembly

40th New Brunswick Legislative Assembly

The 40th New Brunswick Legislative Assembly represented New Brunswick between February 20, 1945 and May 8, 1948.William George Clark served as Lieutenant-Governor of New Brunswick in 1945. He was succeeded by David Laurence MacLaren in November of that year....

 as a Liberal

New Brunswick Liberal Association

The New Brunswick Liberal Association , more popularly known as the New Brunswick Liberal Party or Liberal Party of New Brunswick, is one of the two major political parties in the Canadian province of New Brunswick...

 candidate in the Gloucester riding in the 1944 Provincial election

New Brunswick general election, 1944

The 20th New Brunswick general election was held on August 28, 1944, to elect 48 members to the 40th New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, the governing house of the province of New Brunswick, Canada. New Brunswick general election, 1944 Name Seats...

. He was reelected in 1948, 1952, 1956 and 1960. Following his party taking power in the 1960 New Brunswick general election

New Brunswick general election, 1960

The 24th New Brunswick general election was held on June 27, 1960, to elect 52 members to the 44th New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, the governing house of the province of New Brunswick, Canada. New Brunswick general election, 1960 Name Seats...

, new Premier

Premier of New Brunswick

The Premier of New Brunswick is the first minister for the Canadian province of New Brunswick. They are the province's head of government and de facto chief executive....

 Louis Robichaud

Louis Robichaud

Louis Joseph Robichaud, PC, CC, QC , popularly known as "Little Louis" or "P'tit-Louis" , was a Canadian lawyer and politician...

 appointed Fournier to the Cabinet

Executive Council of New Brunswick

The Executive Council of New Brunswick is the cabinet of that Canadian province....

 as Minister of Industry and Development

Business New Brunswick

Business New Brunswick is a department in the Government of New Brunswick. It is charged with stimulating economic prosperity and global competitiveness in the province....

 on July 12, 1960. He served in that position until April 22, 1963.

Senate of Canada

On December 9, 1971, Canadian Prime Minister

Prime Minister of Canada

The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...

 Pierre Trudeau

Pierre Trudeau

Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau, , usually known as Pierre Trudeau or Pierre Elliott Trudeau, was the 15th Prime Minister of Canada from April 20, 1968 to June 4, 1979, and again from March 3, 1980 to June 30, 1984.Trudeau began his political career campaigning for socialist ideals,...

 appointed Michel Fournier to the Senate of Canada where he was active on several committees including the Special Committee on Retirement Age Policies and the Standing Committee on Agriculture

Canadian Senate Standing Committee on Agriculture and Forestry

The Canadian Senate Standing Committee on Agriculture and Forestry is a Canadian Senate committee of the Government of Canada.The mandate of the Committee on Agriculture and Forestry is to examine legislation and matters relating to agriculture and forestry generally, and the Canadian Wheat...

. He served in the Senate until his mandatory retirement at age seventy-five on September 29, 1980.