Maxime Lépine 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...

 businessman and political figure of Métis origin. He represented St. Francois Xavier East in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba

Legislative Assembly of Manitoba

The Legislative Assembly of Manitoba and the lieutenant governor form the Legislature of Manitoba, the legislature of the Canadian province of Manitoba. Fifty-seven members are elected to this assembly in provincial general elections, all in single-member constituencies with first-past-the-post...

 from 1874 to 1878.

He was born in Saint Boniface, Manitoba

Saint Boniface, Manitoba

Saint Boniface is a city ward of Winnipeg, home to much of the Franco-Manitoban community. It features such landmarks as the Cathédrale de Saint Boniface , Boulevard Provencher, the Provencher Bridge, Esplanade Riel, St. Boniface Hospital, the Collège universitaire de Saint-Boniface and the Royal...

, the son of Jean-Baptiste Bérard, dit Lépine and Julia Henry. Around 1857, he married Josephte Lavallée. He managed a company which transported goods west and south from Winnipeg

Winnipeg

Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...

 using Red River carts. He was a friend 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....

 and, with his brother Ambroise-Dydime

Ambroise-Dydime Lépine

Ambroise-Dydime Lépine was a military leader of the Métis under the command of Louis Riel during the Red River Rebellion of 1869-1870. He was tried and sentenced to death for his role in the rebellion and for the execution of Thomas Scott, but his sentence was commuted by Governor General Lord...

, served in the provisiional government established in 1869. In 1882, he moved to Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....

, settling near St. Louis

St. Louis, Saskatchewan

St. Louis is a Canadian village in the province of Saskatchewan, south of Prince Albert and northeast of Batoche. It was founded by Métis settlers in the late 19th century, and is the northernmost Southbranch Settlement, a series of communities which range from Fish Creek in the south along the...

. He served as a councillor in the provisional government

Provisional Government of Saskatchewan

The Provisional Government of Saskatchewan was the name given by Louis Riel to the independent state he declared during the Northwest Rebellion of 1885 in what is today the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. Although Riel initially hoped to rally the Countryborn, Cree and European settlers of the...

 created by Riel during the North-West Rebellion

North-West Rebellion

The North-West Rebellion of 1885 was a brief and unsuccessful uprising by the Métis people of the District of Saskatchewan under Louis Riel against the Dominion of Canada...

. Lépine fought at the Battle of Fish Creek

Battle of Fish Creek

The Battle of Fish Creek , fought April 24, 1885 at Fish Creek, Saskatchewan, was a major Métis victory over the Dominion forces attempting to quell Louis Riel's North-West Rebellion...

 and surrendered to General Frederick Dobson Middleton

Frederick Dobson Middleton

General Sir Frederick Dobson Middleton KCMG, CB was a British general noted for his service throughout the Empire and particularly in the North-West Rebellion.-Military career:...

 after the defeat at Batoche

Battle of Batoche

The Battle of Batoche was the decisive battle of the North-West Rebellion. Fought from 9 May to 12 May 1885 at the ad hoc Provisional Government of Saskatchewan capital of Batoche, the greater numbers and superior firepower of Middleton's force could not be successfully countered by the Métis ,...

. He was convicted of high treason and sent to Stony Mountain Penitentiary in August 1885, serving only about seven months of his seven year sentence. In 1896, he was given an appointment in the Indian agency at Battleford. Lépine died in St. Louis the following year.