Frederick Debartzch Monk

The Hon.
Frederick Debartzch Monk
Member of the Canadian Parliament
for Jacques Cartier
In office
1896–1914
Preceded byNapoléon Charbonneau
Succeeded byJoseph Adélard Descarries
Personal details
Born(1856-04-06)April 6, 1856
Montreal, Canada East
DiedMay 15, 1914(1914-05-15) (aged 58)
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Political partyConservative
RelationsPierre-Dominique Debartzch, grandfather
ChildrenFrederick Arthur Monk
CabinetMinister of Public Works (1911–1912)

Frederick Debartzch Monk, PC QC (April 6, 1856 – May 15, 1914) was a Canadian lawyer and politician.

Born in Montreal, Canada East, Monk was the son of Justice Samuel Cornwallis Monk (1814–1888) and Rosalie Caroline Debartzch (1819–1889), daughter of The Hon. Pierre-Dominique Debartzch. His grandmother, Anne (Gugy) Monk was a daughter of Col. The Hon. Louis Gugy. He received a Bachelor of Civil Law degree in 1877 from McGill University and was called to the Quebec Bar in 1878. From 1888 to 1914, he taught in the faculty of law at the Université Laval. In 1893, he was made a Queen's Counsel.

Monk was first elected to the House of Commons of Canada in 1896 as a Conservative Member of Parliament for the riding of Jacques Cartier. He was re-elected in 1900, 1904, 1908, and 1911. He resigned from Cabinet on October 28, 1912, after disagreeing with Sir Robert Borden over the refusal of a referendum on Canadian purchase of three dreadnought class ships for Laurier's "Tin Pot Navy."[1] From 1911 to 1912, he was the Minister of Public Works. Monk continued as a backbench MP, though his relations with the Conservative Party were increasingly strained, until March 2, 1914, when he resigned from the House of Commons due to ill health. He died two months later and was entombed at the Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery in Montreal.[2]

His son, Frederick Arthur Monk, was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Quebec from 1935 to 1936.

Electoral record

1896 Canadian federal election: Jacques Cartier
Party Candidate Votes
Conservative Frederick Debartzch Monk 2,329
Liberal Arthur Boyer 2,216
1900 Canadian federal election: Jacques Cartier
Party Candidate Votes
Conservative Frederick Debartzch Monk 2,682
Liberal Jérémie L. Décarie 2,390
1904 Canadian federal election: Jacques Cartier
Party Candidate Votes
Conservative Frederick Debartzch Monk 3,095
Liberal Louis A. Boyer 2,755
1908 Canadian federal election: Jacques Cartier
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Frederick Debartzch Monk 4,143 56.65 +3.75
Liberal Ucal Henri Dandurand 3,170 34.34 -3.75
Total valid votes 7,313
Conservative hold Swing +3.75
1911 Canadian federal election: Jacques Cartier
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Frederick Debartzch Monk 5,782 56.55 -0.10
Liberal Louis-Joseph-Charles-Émile Boyer 4,442 43.45 +0.10
Total valid votes 10,224
Conservative hold Swing -0.10

By-election: On Mr. Monk being appointed Minister of Public Works, 10 October 1911

By-election on 27 October 1911
Party Candidate Votes
Conservative Frederick Debartzch Monk acclaimed

Archives

There is a Frederick Debartzch Monk fonds at Library and Archives Canada.[3]

References

  1. ^ Morton, Desmond (2006). A Short History of Canada, 6th ed. Toronto, Ontario: McClelland and Stewart. p. 173. ISBN 0-7710-6480-2.
  2. ^ Répertoire des personnages inhumés au cimetière ayant marqué l'histoire de notre société (in French). Montreal: Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery.
  3. ^ "Finding aid to Frederick Debartzch Monk fonds, Library and Archives Canada" (PDF).