George-Étienne Cartier
\nSir
George-Étienne Cartier (
September 6,
1814 -
May 20,
1873) was a
French-Canadian statesman and
Father of Confederation. The English spelling of the name, George, is explained by his having been named in honour of King George III.
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George-Étienne
Cartier |
Cartier was born in Saint-Antoine,
Quebec (then known as
Lower Canada). He fought with
Louis-Joseph Papineau in the
Patriotes Rebellion of
1837, and was forced into temporary exile in
Vermont. He practised law when he returned and was elected to the Legislative Assembly of the
Province of Canada in
1849. In
1852 he supported the creation of the
Grand Trunk Railway, and from
1858 to
1862 he served as premier of the united province. He was a loyal and devoted friend of
John A. Macdonald, for whom he secured power in lower Canada. In
1864 Cartier and Macdonald joined the Great Coalition with
George Brown.
He attended all three conferences (
Quebec,
Charlottetown, and
London) leading to
Canadian Confederation, and was largely responsible for gaining
French-Canadian support for union.
George-Étienne Cartier died in
London, England. His body was brought back to Canada, and interred in the
Cimetière Notre-Dame-des-Neiges in Montreal, Quebec.
Category:Canadian history
