Albert Sévigny - Your Art History Reference Guide!

ArtHistoryClub Information Site on Albert Sévigny Art History Art History Search        Art History Browse        Classroom welcome to our free resource site for all art history lovers!
Art History Search        Art History Browse             News        Gallery        Forums        Articles        Weblinks        welcome to our free resource site for all art history lovers!

Albert Sévigny

Albert Sévigny (December 31 1881 - May 14 1961) was a Canadian politician.

Sévigny opened a law practice in Quebec City in 1905. Two years later he was a candidate for the Quebec Conservative Party in a provincial by-election but was defeated. He was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 1911 Canadian election due to an informal alliance between the Conservatives and the Nationalists led by Henri Bourassa and due to Sevigny's sympathy with Bourassa's views.

In Parliament Sevigny became a supporter of Canadian participation in World War I despite the strong opposition of most Quebecers and became a staunch Conservative. He was appointed Deputy Speaker in 1915 and in 1916 he became Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons.

Prime Minister Robert Borden was facing an increasing divisive crisis over conscription with the country divided between English Canadians who supported the measure and French-Canadians who fervently opposed it. In early 1917, Borden asked Sevigny to leave the Speaker's chair and join the Cabinet to help the government persuade Quebecers of the government's case.

Sévigny was appointed Minister of Inland Revenue and was required by the laws of the time to resign his seat and run in a by-election. He was re-elected by a margin of only 257 votes.

In June, Borden introduced conscription and, of the French Canadian Members of Parliament only three voted for the conscription bill, including Sévigny.

Borden formed a Union government with dissident Liberals and called a general election on the conscription issue. The country divided largely along linguistic lines with Conservative candidates being wiped out in Quebec in a rout that cost Sévigny his seat. Borden's coalition dominated the election in English Canada, however, and he was returned with a strong majority.

In 1921, the Conservative government appinted Sévigny to the Superior Court of Quebec on which he served for 39 years, becoming Associate Chief Justice in 1933 and Chief Justice in 1942.

Preceded by:
Thomas Simpson Sproule
1911-1915
Speaker of the
Canadian House of Commons

1916-1917
Followed by:
Edgar Nelson Rhodes
1917-1922
Last updated: 08-02-2005 14:45:54
Last updated: 01-04-2007 01:18:57
The contents of this article are licensed from Wikipedia.org under the
GNU Free Documentation License. See original document.
Art History Search | Art History Browse | Contact | Legal info