Sir Joseph Amable Thomas Chapais (March 23, 1858 – July 15, 1946) was a French Canadian

French Canadian

French Canadian or Francophone Canadian, , generally refers to the descendents of French colonists who arrived in New France in the 17th and 18th centuries...

 author, editor, historian, journalist, professor, and politician.

Born in Saint-Denis, Quebec

Saint-Denis, Quebec

Saint-Denis-sur-Richelieu is a municipality in the southwestern part of the Province of Quebec, Canada on the Richelieu River in the Regional County Municipality of La Vallée-du-Richelieu...

 (then Canada East

Canada East

Canada East was the eastern portion of the United Province of Canada. It consisted of the southern portion of the modern-day Canadian Province of Quebec, and was primarily a French-speaking region....

), the son of 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....

, a Father of 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...

, and Henriette-Georgina Dionne, he received a Bachelor's degree in 1876 from Université Laval

Université Laval

Laval University is the oldest centre of education in Canada and was the first institution in North America to offer higher education in French...

 and was called to the Bar of Quebec in 1879.

From 1879 to 1884, he was the Principal Secretary to the Lieutenant Governor of Quebec

Lieutenant-Governors of Quebec

The following is a list of the Lieutenant Governors of Quebec. Though the present day office of the lieutenant governor in Quebec came into being only upon the province's entry into Canadian Confederation in 1867, the post is a continuation from the first governorship of New France in 1627, through...

, Théodore Robitaille

Théodore Robitaille

Théodore Robitaille, PC was a Canadian physician, politician, and the fourth Lieutenant Governor of Quebec....

. Turning to journalism, he became the Editor-in-Chief of the daily newspaper, Le Courrier du Canada in 1884 and from 1890 to 1901 was the owner. From 1907 to 1934, he was a Professor of History at Université Laval.

In 1891, he ran unsuccessfully as a Conservative

Conservative Party of Canada (historical)

The Conservative Party of Canada has gone by a variety of names over the years since Canadian Confederation. Initially known as the "Liberal-Conservative Party", it dropped "Liberal" from its name in 1873, although many of its candidates continued to use this name.As a result of World War I and the...

 for the Canadian House of Commons

Canadian House of Commons

The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...

 in the riding of Kamouraska

Kamouraska

Kamouraska may refer to:*Kamouraska Regional County Municipality, Quebec*the municipality of Kamouraska, Quebec*the book Kamouraska by Anne Hébert*the film Kamouraska by Claude Jutra, based on the book...

. He was appointed to the Legislative Council of Quebec

Legislative Council of Quebec

From 1867 until 1968, the Legislative Council of Quebec was the unelected upper house of the bicameral legislature in the Canadian province of Quebec...

 in 1892 representing Laurentides. From 1893 to 1894, he was the Leader of the Government. In 1893, he was appointed Minister without Portfolio in the cabinet of Louis-Olivier Taillon

Louis-Olivier Taillon

Sir Louis-Olivier Taillon, PC was born in Terrebonne, Quebec. He twice served as the eighth Premier of the Canadian province of Quebec....

. From 1895 to 1897, he was the Speaker of the Legislative Council. From 1896 to 1897, he was the President of the Executive Council in the cabinet of Edmund James Flynn

Edmund James Flynn

Edmund James Flynn was a Canadian politician and the tenth Premier of Quebec.-Background:Flynn, the son of Jacques Flynn and Elizabeth Tostevin, was born at Percé on November 16, 1847. He studied law at the Université Laval in Quebec City from 1871 to 1873, obtaining his degree with distinction. On...

 and was a Cabinet Minister. In 1917, he refused a seat in the Senate but was summoned to the Senate in 1919. A Conservative, he represented the senatorial division of Grandville, Quebec and served until his death in 1946.

From 1936 to 1939 and again from 1944 to 1946, he was the leader of the government in the Legislative Council. From 1936 to 1938, he was a Minister without Portfolio in the cabinet of 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...

. He was appointed again in 1944.

In 1912, he was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada

Royal Society of Canada

The Royal Society of Canada , may also operate under the more descriptive name RSC: The Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada , is the oldest association of scientists and scholars in Canada...

 and was its President from 1923 to 1924. From 1925 to 1926, he was the President of the Canadian Historical Association

Canadian Historical Association

The Canadian Historical Association is a Canadian organization founded in 1922 for the purposes of promoting historical research and scholarship. Marius Barbeau, the anthropologist, was its founding Secretary...

. In 1930, he was a member of the Canadian delegation to the League of Nations

League of Nations

The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...

. In 1935, he was made a Knight Bachelor

Knight Bachelor

The rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...

 by George V

George V of the United Kingdom

George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....

.

Parc Thomas-Chapais in Montreal is named in his honor.

Published works

• Congrégations enseignantes et le brevet de capacité (1893)
• Discours et conférences (1895)
• le Serment du roi (1901)
• Jean Talon, intendant de la Nouvelle-France (1904)
• Mélanges de polémique et d'études religieuses, politiques et littéraires (1905)
• le Marquis de Montcalm (1911)
• Mélanges (1915)
• Cours d'histoire du Canada, 1760-1867 (1919)

External links