He was born in St-Henri de Mascouche, Canada East. He served as a member of the municipal council for Montreal from 1878 to 1894. Jeannotte was defeated by Joseph Gauthier in the 1891 federal election but won the 1892 by-election held after the results of that election were overturned. He was defeated by Gauthier when he ran for reelection in 1896.