Joseph Poirier was a merchant and political figure of Acadian

Acadian

The Acadians are the descendants of the 17th-century French colonists who settled in Acadia . Acadia was a colony of New France...

 descent in New Brunswick

New Brunswick

New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...

, Canada. He represented 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...

 in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick

Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick

The Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick is located in Fredericton. It was established de jure when the colony was created in 1784, but only came in to session in 1786 following the first elections in late 1785. Until 1891, it was the lower house in a bicameral legislature when its upper house...

 from 1890 to 1895 and from 1899 to 1908 as a Conservative.

He was born in Grand Anse, New Brunswick, the son of Hubert Poirier. Poirier established himself as a merchant there and, in 1882, entered the lobster packing industry. He also was involved in the export of salmon

Atlantic salmon

The Atlantic salmon is a species of fish in the family Salmonidae, which is found in the northern Atlantic Ocean and in rivers that flow into the north Atlantic and the north Pacific....

. In 1860, he married Emelia Theriault. Poirier served as a member of the county council and was county warden. He was also a director of the Caraquet Railway.