- Peter Veniot
Infobox_President
name = Peter John Veniot
imagesize = 150px
caption = Peter J. Veniot as Postmaster General
order = 17thPremier of New Brunswick
term_start = 1925
term_end = 1925
predecessor = Walter E. Foster
successor = John B. M. Baxter| birth_date = birth date|1863|10|4|mf=y
birth_place =Richibucto, New Brunswick ,Canada flagicon|Canada
death_date = death date and age |1936|7|6|1863|10|4
death_place =Bathurst, New Brunswick ,Canada flagicon|Canada
party = Liberal
spouse = Catherine Melanson
religion = Roman Catholic|Peter John Veniot, PC (
October 4 ,1863 –July 6 ,1936 ) was a businessman and newspaper owner and a politician inNew Brunswick ,Canada . He was the firstAcadian premier of the province ofNew Brunswick .He was born in
Richibucto, New Brunswick but later moved toPictou, Nova Scotia with his family. Veniot worked as a journalist and typographer for the Pictou "Standard" and then the "Moncton Transcript". He then moved to Bathurst, where he became editor and later owner of the "Courier des Provinces Maritimes".Veniot was first elected to the
Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick in 1894, but left politics in 1900 for a customs job. In 1912, he was hired to reorganize the Liberal Party of New Brunswick, and became aMember of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) again in 1917.He served in the cabinet of Premier Walter Foster as Minister of Public Works. As Minister, Veniot was responsible for the creation of the New Brunswick Electric Power Commission and the modernization of the province's highway system.
Veniot became Premier in 1923. He was a supporter of the
Maritime Rights Movement , which advocated more power for the Maritime provinces inCanadian confederation . His government was defeated in 1925.Veniot resigned as provincial Liberal leader in 1926 in order to enter federal politics in the 1926 federal election. He served as Postmaster General in the cabinet of
William Lyon Mackenzie King . In cabinet, Veniot advocated implementation of theDuncan Commission recommendations on alleviating Maritime alienation. Recommendations of freight-rate reductions and subsidy increases were implemented, but suggestions for subsidies based on fiscal need and transportation use to encourage regional development were ignored.Veniot remained a Member of Parliament until his death at his home in Bathurst in 1936.
Married in 1885 to Catherine Melanson [ [http://faculty.marianopolis.edu/c.belanger/quebechistory/encyclopedia/JohnPeterVeniot-QuebecHistory.htm L’Encyclopédie de l’histoire du Québec / The Quebec History Encyclopedia] ] , their son Clarence Joseph was elected in the by-election held in the federal riding of Gloucester after his death and later served in the Canadian Senate.
Further reading
* Arthur T. Doyle, "Front Benches and Back Rooms: A story of corruption, muckraking, raw partisanship and political intrigue in New Brunswick", Toronto: Green Tree Publishing, 1976.
References
* [http://www.parl.gc.ca/information/about/people/key/bio.asp?lang=E&query=14955&s=M Synopsis of federal political experience from the Library of Parliament]
* [http://www.gnb.ca/legis/leglibbib/Special_Projects/premiers-bios/english/PJVeniot.pdf Government of New Brunswick biography] (pdf)
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