Antoine-Aimé Dorion

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The Honourable Sir Antoine-Aimé Dorion
Source: Library and Archives Canada

Sir Antoine-Aimé Dorion, PC (January 17, 1818 – May 31, 1891) was a French Canadian politician and jurist.

He was born in Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pérade 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. A lawyer by training, Dorion served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from 1854 to 1867 and was a reformer and leading member of the Parti Rouge. Dorion was a supporter of reciprocity with the United States, was critical of the influence of the Roman Catholic Church in Lower Canada and had a favourable view of American political models.

In 1858, Dorion served as Co-Premier of the Province of Canada with Clear Grit leader George Brown but the government quickly fell. From 1863 to 1864 Dorion again served as Co-Premier, this time with John Sandfield Macdonald as well as taking the position of Attorney-General but refused to participate in the Great Coalition government formed in 1864 by Brown, John A. Macdonald and George-Étienne Cartier. Following the Quebec Conference of 1864 he denounced the proposed Canadian Confederation and led the opposition in Lower Canada to the project.

Nevertheless, when Confederation became a reality, Dorion won a seat in the new Canadian House of Commons as Liberal Member of Parliament for Hochelaga. He was re-elected three times in succession for Napierville and served as Minister of Justice in the Liberal government of Alexander Mackenzie from 1873 until 1874 when he was named chief justice of the Court of Queen's Bench of Quebec.

He died in Montreal in 1891 after suffering a stroke.

[edit] See also

• List of Presidents of the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society of Montreal

[edit] External links

• Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
• Federal Political Biography from the Library of Parliament