Luc Letellier de St-Just
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,...
(May 12, 1820 Rivière Quelle, 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....
– January 28, 1881 Rivière Quelle, Quebec) 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. He also served as the third 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...
(1876–1879).
A notary
Civil law notary
Civil-law notaries, or Latin notaries, are lawyers of noncontentious private civil law who draft, take, and record legal instruments for private parties, provide legal advice and give attendance in person, and are vested as public officers with the authentication power of the State...
by training, Letellier belonged to an old and prominent family. He was a half-brother of Horace Bélanger
Horace Bélanger
Horace Bélanger was born in Rivière-Ouelle, Lower Canada and became involved in the fur trade with the Hudson's Bay Company....
. In 1851, he was elected in a by-election to 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 supporter of Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine
Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine
Sir Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine , 1st Baronet, KCMG was the first Canadian to become Prime Minister of the United Province of Canada and the first head of a responsible government in Canada. He was born in Boucherville, Lower Canada in 1807...
. He was defeated in a general election a few months later by his rival Jean-Charles Chapais
Jean-Charles Chapais
Jean-Charles Chapais, PC was a Canadian Conservative politician, and considered a Father of Canadian Confederation for his participation in the Quebec Conference to determine the form of Canada's government....
. In 1860, Letellier won election to the legislative council of the united province
Legislative Council of the Province of Canada
The Legislative Council of the Province of Canada was the upper house 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 province of Ontario...
and, in 1863, he was appointed minister of agriculture in the Reform
Reform Party (pre-Confederation)
The Reform movement, sometimes referred to as the Reform Party, began in the 1830s as the movement in the English speaking parts of British North America . It agitated for responsible government....
- rouge
Parti rouge
The Parti rouge was formed in the Province of Quebec, around 1848 by radical French-Canadians inspired by the ideas of Louis-Joseph Papineau, the Institut canadien de Montréal, and the reformist movement led by the Parti patriote of the 1830s.The party was a successor to the Parti patriote...
Cabinet
Cabinet (government)
A Cabinet is a body of high ranking government officials, typically representing the executive branch. It can also sometimes be referred to as the Council of Ministers, an Executive Council, or an Executive Committee.- Overview :...
of Joint Premiers
Joint Premiers of the Province of Canada
Joint Premiers of the Province of Canada were the leaders of the Province of Canada, from the 1841 unification of Upper Canada and Lower Canada until Confederation in 1867....
John Sandfield Macdonald
John Sandfield Macdonald
John Sandfield Macdonald, QC was the first Premier of the province of Ontario, one of the four founding provinces created at the confederation of Canada in 1867...
and Antoine-Aimé Dorion
Antoine-Aimé Dorion
Sir Antoine-Aimé Dorion, PC was a French Canadian politician and jurist.-Early years:He was born in Lower Canada in 1818, the son of Pierre-Antoine Dorion, a merchant and member of the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada who supported Louis-Joseph Papineau...
. The government fell the next year, however, in favour of a Tory
Tory
Toryism is a traditionalist and conservative political philosophy which grew out of the Cavalier faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It is a prominent ideology in the politics of the United Kingdom, but also features in parts of The Commonwealth, particularly in Canada...
– Parti bleu
Parti bleu
The Parti bleu was a moderate political group in Quebec, Canada that emerged in 1854. It was based on the moderate reformist views of Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine, and was a rival to the radical Parti rouge....
administration.
Letellier opposed Canadian 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...
prior to 1867, but accepted it once it became a reality. He was appointed by royal charter
Royal Charter
A royal charter is a formal document issued by a monarch as letters patent, granting a right or power to an individual or a body corporate. They were, and are still, used to establish significant organizations such as cities or universities. Charters should be distinguished from warrants and...
as a charter member of the Canadian Senate
Canadian Senate
The Senate of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the House of Commons, and the monarch . The Senate consists of 105 members appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister...
when it was created in 1867. He sat as a "Nationalist Liberal
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
", and was Leader of the Opposition in the Senate from 1867 until the 1872 election
Canadian federal election, 1872
The Canadian federal election of 1872 was held from July 20 to October 12, 1872, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 2nd Parliament of Canada. Prime Minister Sir John A...
when the Liberals took power under Alexander Mackenzie
Alexander Mackenzie
Alexander Mackenzie, PC , a building contractor and newspaper editor, was the second Prime Minister of Canada from November 7, 1873 to October 8, 1878.-Biography:...
. Letellier became Leader of the Government in the Senate
Leader of the Government in the Senate (Canada)
The Leader of the Government in the Senate is a Canadian cabinet minister who leads the government side in the Canadian Senate and is chiefly responsible for promoting and defending the government's program in the Upper House. The government leader's counterpart on the Opposition benches is the...
and Minister of Agriculture
Minister of Agriculture (Canada)
The Minister of Agriculture is a Minister of the Crown in the Cabinet of Canada, who is responsible for overseeing several organizations including Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Canadian Dairy Commission, Farm Credit Canada, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, National Farm Products Council and...
in Mackenzie's Cabinet. He had also attempted to concurrently win a seat in the Quebec legislative assembly, but was defeated in his attempts in 1869 and 1871
Quebec general election, 1871
The Quebec general election of 1871 was held in June and July of 1871 to elect members of the 2nd Legislative Assembly for the Province of Quebec, Canada...
to win election.
In 1876, Mackenzie advised the Governor General of Canada
Governor General of Canada
The Governor General of Canada is the federal viceregal representative of the Canadian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II...
to appoint Letellier to the position of lieutenant-governor of Quebec. As lieutenant governor, he dismissed the government of Conservative Quebec Premier
Premier of Quebec
The Premier of Quebec is the first minister of the Canadian province of Quebec. The Premier is the province's head of government and his title is Premier and President of the Executive Council....
Charles-Eugène Boucher de Boucherville on March 1, 1878, despite the fact that the government enjoyed a 20 seat majority in the Quebec legislative assembly and a two-to-one majority in the legislative council
Legislative Council
A Legislative Council is the name given to the legislatures, or one of the chambers of the legislature of many nations and colonies.A Member of the Legislative Council is commonly referred to as an MLC.- Unicameral legislatures :...
. Letellier justified the dismissal on charges that the government was acting incompotently and corruptly on the matter of railway legislation. He also argued that if the de Boucherville government hadn't made concessions to "rings" of interest within the legislature on the issue, it would lose the legislature's support. De Boucherville called the move a "coup d'etat
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
", and complained to the Governor General of Canada
Governor General of Canada
The Governor General of Canada is the federal viceregal representative of the Canadian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II...
. Both houses of the Quebec legislature passed motions of censure against the lieutenant-governor.
When the federal Conservatives under Sir John A. Macdonald
John A. Macdonald
Sir John Alexander Macdonald, GCB, KCMG, PC, PC , QC was the first Prime Minister of Canada. The dominant figure of Canadian Confederation, his political career spanned almost half a century...
defeated the federal Liberals
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
in the 1878 election
Canadian federal election, 1878
The Canadian federal election of 1878 was held on September 17 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 4th Parliament of Canada. It resulted in the end of Prime Minister Alexander Mackenzie's Liberal government after only one term in office. Canada suffered an economic depression...
, the new federal Cabinet tried to have Letellier dismissed as lieutenant-governor of Quebec. The Governor General, the Marquess of Lorne, referred the matter to the Colonial Secretary
Colonial Office
Colonial Office is the government agency which serves to oversee and supervise their colony* Colonial Office - The British Government department* Office of Insular Affairs - the American government agency* Reichskolonialamt - the German Colonial Office...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
who advised him to follow the advice of his ministers. Letellier was dismissed.