- Rodolphe Lemieux
Rodolphe Lemieux, PC , FRSC (
November 1 1866 –September 28 1937 ) was a Canadianparliament arian and long timeSpeaker of the Canadian House of Commons (1922-1930).He was born in
Montreal as the son of a Customs officer. After a career as a journalist, lawyer and law professor he was elected to theCanadian House of Commons in the 1896 election as a Liberal. He was a loyal follower of SirWilfrid Laurier and, in 1904 becameSolicitor General of Canada in Laurier's Cabinet. He subsequently served asPostmaster General of Canada , Minister of Labour and Minister of Marine and Fisheries. His Deputy Minister in the Department of Labour was futurePrime Minister of Canada ,William Lyon Mackenzie King .As Minister of Labour he started a system in which no strike or lockout in a
public utility or mine could be legal until the differences had been referred to a three-man board of conciliation representing the employer, the employees and the public.In 1907, Laurier sent Lemieux to
Japan to defendCanadian immigration policies which were discriminatory against the Japanese. He succeeded in obtaining an agreement from Japan to curtail emigration of its citizens to Canada.He also continued in his academic pursuits, becoming a fellow of the
Royal Society of Canada in 1908 and President of the Society in 1918.In the 1911 election, Lemieux engaged in a series of public debates before audiences of several thousands with nationalist leader
Henri Bourassa who was threatening the Liberal's base in Quebec. The Liberals retained a majority of seats in the province but lost government because of its loss of seats in Ontario.Lemieux was a sharp critic of the Conservative government of
Robert Borden accusing it of putting the interests of theBritish Empire ahead of those of Canada.During
World War I , Lemieux opposedconscription and supported Laurier during theConscription Crisis of 1917 .When Mackenzie King led the Liberals back to power in the 1921 election, he chose
Ernest Lapointe as hisQuebec lieutenant rather than Lemieux. Instead, he nominated Lemieux as Speaker of the House of Commons. Lemieux presided over the House during severalminority government s.He was Speaker during the
King-Byng Affair of 1926. He remained Speaker when Governor General Byng appointedArthur Meighen as Prime Minister rather than call an election.He attempted to rule in a neutral manner despite the highly charged atmosphere, and all but one of his rulings were sustained by the House. Instead Lord Byng invited the Conservatives to form a government. In spite of assurances of support from the Progressive Party, the Conservatives were unable to maintain control of the House. Lemieux had to make several crucial rulings. Five were appealed and one was overturned.
Lemieux presided over three successive Parliaments and was the longest serving Speaker until
Lucien Lamoureux broke the record in 1974.On
June 30 ,1930 , King appointed Lemieux to theCanadian Senate , where he served until his death in 1937.External links
* [http://www.parl.gc.ca/information/about/people/key/bio.asp?lang=E&query=2284&s=M Synopsis of federal political experience from the Library of Parliament]
succession box
before=Georges-Casimir Dessaulles
title=Rougemont Senate division
years=1930-1937
after=Elie Beauregard
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