Onésime Gagnon

The Honourable Onésime Gagnon PC
20th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec
In office February 14, 1958 – September 30, 1961
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Governors General	Vincent Massey Georges Vanier
Premier	Maurice Duplessis Paul Sauvé Antonio Barrette Jean Lesage
Preceded by	Gaspard Fauteux
Succeeded by	Paul Comtois
Member of the Legislative Assembly of Quebec for Matane
In office August 17, 1936 – February 14, 1958
Preceded by	Joseph-Arthur Bergeron
Succeeded by	Benoît Gaboury
Member of the Canadian Parliament for Dorchester
In office July 28, 1930 – October 14, 1935
Preceded by	Lucien Cannon
Succeeded by	Léonard Tremblay
Personal details
Born	(1888-10-23)October 23, 1888 Saint-Léon-de-Standon, Quebec
Died	September 30, 1961(1961-09-30) (aged 72) Bois-de-Coulonge, Sillery, Quebec
Nationality	Canadian
Political party	Federal: Conservative Provincial: Union nationale
Cabinet	Federal: Minister Without Portfolio (1935) Provincial: Minister of Mines, Game and Fisheries (1936) Minister of Mines and Fisheries (1936–1939) Provincial Treasurer (1944–1958)

Onésime Gagnon PC (French pronunciation: [ɔnezim ɡaɲɔ̃]; October 23, 1888 – September 30, 1961) was a Canadian politician who served as the 20th Lieutenant Governor of Québec.

Background

He was born in Saint-Léon-de-Standon, Quebec, on October 23, 1888, and was the son of Onésime Gagnon and Julie Morin. He was a Rhodes scholar and was called to the Quebec Bar in 1912. From 1942 to 1958, he was a Professor in the Faculty of Law at Université Laval.

Member of Parliament

In 1930, he was elected to the House of Commons of Canada for the riding of Dorchester. A Conservative, he was re-elected in 1935. In 1935, he was a Minister without Portfolio in the cabinet of R. B. Bennett.

Provincial politics

Gagnon was a leadership candidate at the Conservative Party of Quebec convention, held in Sherbrooke on October 4 and 5, 1933. He was defeated by Maurice Duplessis with 28% of the delegates.

In 1936, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Quebec and became the Union Nationale Member for the riding of Matane. He was appointed Minister in the Cabinet of Maurice Duplessis, serving as Minister of Fisheries from 1936 to 1939 and as Treasurer from 1944 to 1958.

He was re-elected in 1939, 1944, 1948, 1952, and 1956.

Lieutenant governor

He resigned in 1958 to accept the office of Lieutenant-Governor of Quebec and served until his death.

Death

Gagnon died on September 30, 1961.

References

• Onésime Gagnon – Parliament of Canada biography
• "Biography". Dictionnaire des parlementaires du Québec de 1792 à nos jours (in French). National Assembly of Quebec.