Background

He was born on September 4, 1877. He was a notary public

Notary public

A notary public in the common law world is a public officer constituted by law to serve the public in non-contentious matters usually concerned with estates, deeds, powers-of-attorney, and foreign and international business...

 and a senior army officer

Officer (armed forces)

An officer is a member of an armed force or uniformed service who holds a position of authority. Commissioned officers derive authority directly from a sovereign power and, as such, hold a commission charging them with the duties and responsibilities of a specific office or position...

 of the local military reserve

Military reserve

A military reserve, tactical reserve, or strategic reserve is a group of military personnel or units which are initially not committed to a battle by their commander so that they are available to address unforeseen situations or exploit suddenly developing...

.

Member of the legislature

He ran as a Liberal candidate in a 1921 provincial by-election

By-election

A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....

 in the district of Trois-Rivières

Trois-Rivières (provincial electoral district)

Trois-Rivières is a provincial electoral district in the province of Quebec, Canada. Located in the Mauricie region and including a large portion of the city of Trois-Rivières west of Saint-Maurice River, the riding was created in 1792 as the Ville-des-Trois-Rivières riding.-Members of the...

 and won, succeeding Joseph-Adolphe Tessier

Joseph-Adolphe Tessier

-Background:He was born on December 17, 1861 in Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pérade, Mauricie. He was a lawyer and a senior army officer of the local military reserve. He was married to Marie-Louise-Elmire Guillet.-Mayor of Trois-Rivières:...

 who had recently died.

Mercier was re-elected in 1923

Quebec general election, 1923

The Quebec general election of 1923 was held on February 5, 1923 to elect members of the 16th Legislative Assembly of Quebec, Canada. The incumbent Quebec Liberal Party, led by Louis-Alexandre Taschereau, was re-elected, defeating the Quebec Conservative Party, led by Arthur Sauvé.It was the first...

, but was defeated by Conservative rising political star Maurice Duplessis

Maurice Duplessis

Maurice Le Noblet Duplessis served as the 16th Premier of the Canadian province of Quebec from 1936 to 1939 and 1944 to 1959. A founder and leader of the highly conservative Union Nationale party, he rose to power after exposing the misconduct and patronage of Liberal Premier Louis-Alexandre...

 in 1927

Quebec general election, 1927

The Quebec general election of 1927 was held on May 16, 1927 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Quebec, Canada. The incumbent Quebec Liberal Party, led by Louis-Alexandre Taschereau, was re-elected, defeating the Quebec Conservative Party, led by Arthur Sauvé.It was the...

.

Retirement from Politics

Mercier was sheriff

Sheriff

A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....

 of Trois-Rivières from 1931 until his death. He died on March 16, 1961.

Footnotes