Sir George-Étienne Cartier, 1st Baronet, PC (pronounced [ʒɔʁʒetjɛnkaʁtje]; September 6, 1814 – May 20, 1873) was a Canadian statesman and Father of Confederation.[1]
The English spelling of the name—George, instead of Georges, the usual French spelling—is explained by his having been named in honour of King George III.
In the years leading up to Confederation, Cartier was a dominant figure in the politics of Canada East as leader of the Parti bleu. In 1838, he returned to Montreal after a year in exile for his role in the Lower Canada Rebellion. He officially entered politics in 1848. During his long career, he instituted the creation of the Civil Code of Lower Canada, replacing the increasingly out-dated Custom of Paris, which had been used in Lower Canada since it had been a French colony. He also promoted the introduction of primary education in the province. Cartier had several reasons for supporting Confederation, notably his fear of American expansion. He died in London, England, on May 20, 1873. Cartier is considered to be one of the most important of the Fathers of Confederation, along with Macdonald and George Brown. He has been dubbed “The Kingpin of Confederation” because of his prominence.[citation needed]
George-Étienne Cartier was born on September 6, 1814, in Saint-Antoine-sur-Richelieu, Lower Canada (now Quebec). Cartier attended the Petit Séminaire de Montréal from 1824 to 1832. He was called to the bar in 1834 where he began to practise his profession. He was also involved in the railway business, and Grand Trunk Railway was one of his legal clients.
Early in his career, Cartier was inspired by Louis-Joseph Papineau. Through this connection, Cartier became a member of the Société des Fils de la Liberté ("Society of the Sons of Liberty") and took part in the Lower Canada Rebellion of 1837 at the Battle of Saint-Denis. For his part in the uprising, Cartier was exiled and he took temporary refuge in Vermont. However, he was allowed to return to Montreal in 1838 to resume his law practice.
During his time in the Union parliament, Cartier introduced a bill in 1852 for the creation of the Grand Trunk Railway Company of Canada. In 1854 Cartier was appointed to cabinet. From 1857 to 1862 he served alongside John A. Macdonald as co-premier of the united province. Cartier was a loyal friend of Macdonald, with whom he created the Great Coalition with George Brown in 1864. The purpose of the Great Coalition was to end the political instability in the province, which had six governments in as many years.
The Great Coalition was one of the first steps in the movement towards Confederation. He attended all three of the conferences convened for this purpose: Charlottetown, Quebec, and London. Cartier was largely responsible for gaining French-Canadian support for the union.
Cartier also played a leading role in pushing through legislative reform that effectively abolished the semi-feudal seigneurial system of land ownership in Lower Canada, turning its legislative council into an elected body of representatives, and pushed successfully for the adoption of the Civil Code within the province.
Federally, Cartier represented Montreal East following the conclusion of Canada's first election on 20 September 1867. At the next federal election in August 1872, he was defeated by Louis-Amable Jetté while seeking a second term in Montreal East in the face of the Pacific Scandal. The following month Cartier was acclaimed the victor in the Manitobariding of Provencher after Louis Riel and Henry James Clarke resigned as candidates there.
Notably, Cartier had intended to support an amnesty for Riel for his role in setting up a Provisional government in the Northwest, but that the Conservative government reneged on its promise to secure amnesty for the Métis leader,[citation needed] who was Cartier's maternal fifth cousin, twice removed. Both were descended from Canadian pioneerZacharie Cloutier and Xainte Dupont (c. 1596 – 1680) who had, in 1634, immigrated to New France in the first wave of the Percheron Immigration from the former province of Perche, to an area that, today, is part of Quebec, Canada. He settled in Beauport and founded one of the foremost families of Quebec.[2]
During his tenure in Ottawa, Cartier was responsible for the negotiations with Britain and the Hudson's Bay Company for the purchase of Rupert's Land and the North-Western Territory by Canada. Cartier was also an active participant in the negotiations that led to the creation of the province of Manitoba and the entry of British Columbia into Confederation. In keeping with his ties to the railways, Cartier in 1872 introduced a bill for the creation of the Canadian Pacific Railway. From 1867 to 1873, he was the Minister of Militia and Defence.
In 1871, Cartier experienced the first symptom of Bright's Disease, a kidney disease. After the 1872 election, Cartier travelled to London hoping to find a cure. His health did not improve and he died in London on May 20, 1873, at the age of 58. He was unable to pay a visit to his Manitoba riding where he was acclaimed a Member of Parliament. His body was brought back to Canada, and interred in the Cimetière Notre-Dame-des-Neiges in Montreal, following a public funeral procession.
Family
George-Étienne Cartier married Hortense Fabre, daughter of Édouard-Raymond Fabre, former mayor of Montreal, on June 16, 1846. The couple had three children, all girls, one of whom died in infancy, and one in 1886. After she was widowed, Lady Cartier enjoyed a pension of $1,200 in recognition of her husband's services. When Caroline, the eldest daughter, died in March 1886, at her request her remains were brought to Montreal and interred alongside those of her father. Lady Cartier and their surviving daughter Hortense lived in Cannes, France, until Lady Cartier died on February 27, 1898. She was buried in Quebec alongside her husband and daughter, in Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery. In 1892 Lady Cartier presented a marble bust of her husband to the Legislative Assembly of Quebec.
Cartier's final resting place in the Notre-Dame des Neiges Cemetery (the same cemetery where fellow Father of Confederation Thomas D'Arcy McGee is buried).
[3] Cartier's niece Victoria Cartier was a noted Canadian music educator, organist and pianist.
Legacy
The entry of Canada East (Quebec) into the Confederation is Cartier's most significant contribution to his country. Following the rebellions in 1837/1838 and the Durham Report, Upper and Lower Canada were merged into a single colony. Great Britain had begun to loosen its ties to the North American colonies. The United States was becoming more and more powerful, and represented a threat to Canada. In 1864, George Brown, leader of the Clear Grits in Canada West (Ontario), proposed an alliance with the Conservatives of Macdonald and Cartier. In 1867, following a series of discussions and conferences (at Charlottetown and Quebec), the alliance known as the Grand Coalition succeeded in forging the agreement which gave birth to Confederation. From this time onwards, the new federal government convened in Ottawa. In 1834 he contributed to founding the Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste patriotic society, where he sang his famous poem Ô Canada! mon pays, mes amours (not to be confused with the national anthem of Canada).[4]
Cartier's residence in Montreal, at 458 Notre-Dame Street East, is now the Sir George-Étienne Cartier National Historic Site, dedicated to his life and achievements. It also serves to recall the architectural heritage and lifestyles of the upper middle class of 19th-century Montreal.
In 1931, Canada Post issued a ten-cent postage stamp with Cartier's portrait surrounded by the national symbol, the maple leaf.
Numerous streets in Quebec and elsewhere in Canada have been named for Cartier, as has the Montreal Metro's Cartier station in Laval, Quebec.
Six schools have been named in his honour:
George-Étienne Cartier French Catholic primary school in Ottawa, Ontario.[9]
George-Étienne Cartier primary school in Gatineau, Québec.
George-Étienne-Cartier French preschool in Longueuil, Quebec[10]
Sir George-Étienne Cartier primary school in London, Ontario.
George-Étienne Cartier French Catholic primary school in Toronto, Ontario[11]
École secondaire Macdonald-Cartier high school in Sudbury, Ontario.[12]
