Joseph Daigle (New Brunswick politician)

Joseph Zenon Daigle, BA, BCL, QC born June 23, 1934 in Saint-Charles, New Brunswick, is a Canadian lawyer and a former politician and Chief Justice of New Brunswick.

Of Acadian descent, Joseph Daigle was educated in his native New Brunswick, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree from St. Joseph's College and a Bachelor of Civil Law degree from the University of New Brunswick before studying public international law at the University of Paris in Paris, France . He entered private practise in 1960 and served as a provincial court judge from 1967 until 1974 when he entered politics.

In the 1974 New Brunswick general election, Joseph Daigle was elected to the Legislative Assembly as the Liberal Party candidate for the newly-created riding of Kent North. In 1978 he became Leader of the provincial Liberal party and assumed the role of Opposition Leader in the Assembly. In the 1978 election, Daigle was personally reelected while leading his party to a narrow loss. His Liberals garnered 44.36% of the popular vote, just .03% less than the winning Progressive Conservatives and captured twenty-eight seats to the Conservative's thirty.

Dissension arose within his caucus following the party's election loss in which 3.5% of the popular vote went to the Parti Acadien, a party made up mainly of disgruntled former Liberals. Daigle resigned as leader and withdrew from political life, returning to the practice of law. In 1982, he was appointed Judge of the Court of Queen's Bench of New Brunswick and was named its Chief Justice in 1994.

Joseph Daigle was appointed Chief Justice of New Brunswick in 1998, serving until 2003 when he was elected supernumerary status.

In 2004, the Government of Canada appointed Joseph Daigle as Chair of its Miramichi and Acadie—Bathurst Electoral Boundaries Commission that successfully dealt with what had become a contentious political issue.

References

• Biography and cartoons for Joseph Daigle at the Government of New Brunswick Archives
• Biography, The Court of Appeal of New Brunswick