Louis-Alexandre Taschereau (French pronunciation:[taʃʁo]; March 5, 1867 – July 6, 1952) was the 14th premier of Quebec from 1920 to 1936. A member of the Parti libéral du Québec, Taschereau's near 16-year tenure remains the longest uninterrupted term of office among Quebec premiers.
He received a law degree from Université Laval and was admitted to the Barreau du Quebec on July 9, 1889. After entering political life, he served as chief lieutenant in the Liberal government of Sir Lomer Gouin. He practised his profession in the law firm of Charles Fitzpatrick and Simon-Napoléon Parent. He was also journalist at the Action Libérale and president and vice-president of the Banque d'Economie de Québec.
A member of the Legislative Assembly from 1900 onwards, he served as Premier Lomer Gouin's Minister of Public Works from 1907 to 1919.
A pioneer in advocating the exploitation of the huge hydraulic potential the waterways of the new Quebec, Taschereau understood the limited capital available in a sparsely populated Canada, and actively tried to bring in American investment to develop Quebec's industrial potential and try to stop mass emigration south of the border.
Louis-Alexandre Taschereau with Canadian Ambassador to the United States Vincent Massey and Justice Minister Ernest Lapointe at the White House in 1927.
Taschereau introduced a measure in 1930 to create a Jewish board that would have provided for Jewish participation on the highest decision-making educational body in Quebec, the Quebec Council of Public Instruction. Some newspapers saw the move by Taschereau to revamp the confessional school system as an example of an undermining of Christianity. As a result of the opposition, the Jewish leadership did not push the issue when Taschereau was forced to repeal the Act and submit a compromise which he had the leaders of the Roman Catholic Church examine and approve beforehand. In the resulting bill, Jews were sent back into the Protestant system, and the Jewish board had no power beyond the right to negotiate a deal with the Protestant School board.
Another policy of Taschereau involved the alcohol trade. The Alcohol Beverages Act established the Quebec Liquor Commission (predecessor to the modern Société des alcools du Québec), which provided the government of Quebec with a monopoly on the sale of liquor and wine during the era of Prohibition in the United States.
Taschereau (right), November 1927 Credit: National Film Board of Canada. Photothèque / Library and Archives Canada / PA-125133
In the later years of his premiership, discontent inside the Liberal Party became evident. The more "radical" left wing of the party left the Liberals and formed a new party, the Action libérale nationale. Paul Gouin, the son of Lomer Gouin and grandson of Honoré Mercier, joined this new party. Later, the Action Libérale Nationale merged with the Conservative Party of Quebec to form the Union Nationale party under the leadership of Maurice Duplessis, who had become famous by exposing the Taschereau cabinet's misdeeds before the Accounts Committee of the Legislative Assembly.
After his brother Antoine admitted to the Accounts Committee that he had deposited the interest on funds belonging to the Legislative Assembly into his personal bank account, Premier Taschereau resigned in favour of fellow Liberal Adélard Godbout, who was sworn in as premier in June 1936. Two months later Godbout lost the election to the Union Nationale, and 40 years of Liberal rule came to an end.
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