Robert Taschereau

The Right Honourable Robert Taschereau PC CC
Robert Taschereau, c.1915
11th Chief Justice of Canada
In office April 22, 1963 – September 1, 1967
Nominated by	John Diefenbaker
Appointed by	Georges Vanier
Preceded by	Patrick Kerwin
Succeeded by	John Robert Cartwright
Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada
In office February 9, 1940 – April 22, 1963
Nominated by	William Lyon Mackenzie King
Preceded by	Lawrence Cannon
Succeeded by	Wishart Spence
Member of the Legislative Assembly of Quebec for Bellechasse
In office 1930–1936
Preceded by	Antonin Galipeault
Succeeded by	Émile Boiteau
Personal details
Born	(1896-09-10)September 10, 1896 Quebec City, Quebec
Died	July 26, 1970(1970-07-26) (aged 73) Montreal, Quebec
Political party	Liberal
Spouse	Ellen Donohue ​ (m. 1926)​
Alma mater	Université Laval

Robert Taschereau PC CC (September 10, 1896 – July 26, 1970) was a lawyer who became the 11th Chief Justice of Canada and who briefly served as the Administrator of the Government of Canada following the death of Governor General of Canada Georges Vanier in 1967.

Biography

He was born in Quebec City in 1896 to Louis-Alexandre Taschereau and Adine Dionne. He came from a family of politicians and lawyers; his father later became Premier of Quebec and his grandfather, Jean-Thomas Taschereau, was on the Supreme Court of Canada. He studied at Laval University and obtained a B.A. degree in 1916 and LL.L. in 1920.^[1]

Following a career as a lawyer, Taschereau entered politics as a Liberal and won a seat in the Quebec National Assembly in 1930. He held his seat of the riding of Bellechasse until retiring in 1936.^{[citation needed]}

Supreme Court Judge

On February 9, 1940, he was appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada, filling the vacancy created by the death of his former law partner, Lawrence Cannon.^{[citation needed]}

In 1946, he and fellow Justice Roy Kellock conducted the Royal Commission on Spying Activities in Canada that had been prompted by the Gouzenko Affair.^{[citation needed]}

Taschereau was promoted to Chief Justice in 1963.^{[citation needed]}

Under the Letters Patent, 1947, the Chief Justice of Canada serves as the Administrator of the Government of Canada in the death, absence or incapacity of the Governor General of Canada.^[2] Taschereau served as Administrator from the death of Governor General Georges Vanier on March 5, 1967 until April 17, 1967 when the Queen appointed Roland Michener as the new governor general, on the advice of Prime Minister Lester Pearson.^[3]

Personal

Taschereau was married to Ellen Donohue, daughter of Joseph Timothy Donohue (co-founder of Donohue Inc.) and Émilie Normandin.^{[citation needed]}

Retirement and honours

Taschereau remained on the Supreme Court until retiring in 1967.^{[citation needed]}

In 1967 he was made a Companion of the Order of Canada.^{[citation needed]}

Robert Taschereau died in 1970 at the age of 73, and was interred in the family plot at the Cimetière Notre-Dame-de-Belmont in Sainte-Foy, Quebec.^{[citation needed]}

References

External links

• Order of Canada Citation
• Supreme Court of Canada biography

This page was last edited on 12 February 2024, at 03:03