Théotime Blanchard was a teacher, farmer, merchant and politician in the Province of 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

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...

. 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...

 from 1870 to 1875 and from 1892 to 1894 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...

 and Gloucester in 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...

 from 1894 to 1900 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...

 member.

He was born in Caraquet, New Brunswick

Caraquet, New Brunswick

Caraquet is a Canadian town in Gloucester County, New Brunswick.-Location:Situated on the shore of Chaleur Bay in the Acadian Peninsula, its name is derived from the Mi'kmaq term for meeting of two rivers...

, the son of Agapit Blanchard and Anne-Marie Poirier, and the grandson of Tranquille Blanchard. He taught school in Neguac

Neguac, New Brunswick

Neguac is a Canadian village in Northumberland County, New Brunswick.Situated on the north shore of Miramichi Bay at the southern end of the Acadian Peninsula, the village is located 44 kilometres northeast of Miramichi...

 and in Caraquet. In 1867, he married Marie Gauvin. Blanchard was later named a justice of the peace

Justice of the Peace

A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...

.

A Roman Catholic

Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

, in the New Brunswick Legislative Assembly he helped lead the opposition to the Common Schools Act of 1871

Common Schools Act of 1871

The Common Schools Act of 1871 was legislation of the Canadian Province of New Brunswick, passed by the 22nd New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, which replaced the Parish Schools Act of 1858. The legislation aimed to abolish church-run schooling in New Brunswick and replace it with a system of...

 that banned religious instruction in the province's school system based on the principle of Separation of church and state

Separation of church and state

The concept of the separation of church and state refers to the distance in the relationship between organized religion and the nation state....

. Blanchard resigned his seat in the assembly and was appointed inspector of weights and measures for Restigouche County

Restigouche County, New Brunswick

Restigouche County is located in north-central New Brunswick, Canada. The county is named for the Restigouche River which flows through the county and is famous for its salmon pools, which have attracted wealthy American and Canadian tourists to the region's summer colonies for decades...

 in 1876. From 1887 to 1892, he served as customs inspector at Caraquet. Blanchard was the first Acadian

Acadian

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

 elected to the provincial assembly and the Canadian House of Commons from Gloucester County. He was defeated by Onésiphore Turgeon

Onésiphore Turgeon

Onésiphore Turgeon was a Canadian parliamentarian.Born in Lévis, Canada East, the son of Simon Turgeon and Pélagie Paradis, he was educated at the Séminaire of Quebec and the Université Laval. Turgeon was a journalist in Bathurst, New Brunswick and was editor for Le Courrier des Provinces Maritimes...

 when he ran for reelection in 1900 and again in 1904. He died in Bathurst

Bathurst, New Brunswick

Bathurst is a Canadian city in Gloucester County, New Brunswick.Bathurst is situated on Bathurst Harbour, an estuary at the mouth of the Nepisiguit River at the southernmost part of Chaleur Bay....

at the age of 66 after being injured in a vehicle accident.