Jump to content

Charles Fitzpatrick

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Sir Charles Fitzpatrick)

The Right Honourable
Sir Charles Fitzpatrick
PC GCMG
5th Chief Justice of Canada
In office
June 4, 1906 – October 21, 1918
Nominated byWilfrid Laurier
Preceded byHenri Elzéar Taschereau
Succeeded byLouis Henry Davies
12th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec
In office
October 23, 1918 – October 31, 1923
MonarchGeorge V
Governors GeneralThe Duke of Devonshire
The Lord Byng of Vimy
PremierLomer Gouin
Louis-Alexandre Taschereau
Preceded byPierre-Évariste Leblanc
Succeeded byLouis-Philippe Brodeur
MP for Quebec County
In office
August 19, 1896 – June 3, 1906
Preceded byJules Joseph Taschereau Frémont
Succeeded byLorenzo Robitaille
Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
In office
February 11, 1902 – June 3, 1906
Preceded byDavid Mills
Succeeded byAllen Bristol Aylesworth
Solicitor General of Canada
In office
July 13, 1896 – February 9, 1902
Preceded byCharles Hibbert Tupper
Succeeded byHenry George Carroll
MLA for Québec-Comté
In office
June 17, 1890 – June 11, 1896
Preceded byThomas Chase-Casgrain
Succeeded byNémèse Garneau
Personal details
Born(1851-12-19)December 19, 1851
Quebec City, Canada East
DiedJune 17, 1942(1942-06-17) (aged 90)
Quebec City, Quebec
Resting placeCimetière Saint-Michel de Sillery
Political partyQuebec Liberal Party (1890–1896)
Liberal Party of Canada (1896–1906)

Sir Charles Fitzpatrick, PC, GCMG (December 19, 1851 – June 17, 1942) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as Minister of Justice of Canada, as Chief Justice of Canada and then as Lieutenant Governor of Quebec.

Early life

[edit]

Fitzpatrick was born in Quebec City, Canada East, to John Fitzpatrick and Mary Connolly.[1] He studied at Laval University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree (1873) and a Bachelor of Laws degree (1876), receiving the Dufferin Silver Medal.[2] Called to the bar of Quebec in 1876, he established his practice in Quebec City and later founded the law firm of Fitzpatrick & Taschereau.[1]

Fitzpatrick as an MP

In 1885, he acted as chief counsel to Louis Riel, who was on trial for leading the North-West Rebellion. Riel was found guilty and sentenced to death.[3]

Political life

[edit]

Fitzpatrick entered politics in 1890, winning election to the Quebec Legislative Assembly in the Québec-Comté electoral district. He was re-elected in 1892, but he resigned in June 1896 to enter federal politics.[4]

He was first elected to the House of Commons of Canada in the Quebec County electoral district in the 1896 federal election as a Liberal Member of Parliament (MP). He served as Solicitor General of Canada from 1896 to 1902, and as Minister of Justice from 1902 until 1906.[3][4] In 1905, he took part, as the federal government representative, in the negotiations that led to the creation of the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan.

As Solicitor General, Fitzpatrick advocated for several reforms to the Supreme Court. He was sympathetic to Chief Justice Samuel Henry Strong's request for additional funding to attend court as a member of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.[5] Additionally, Fitzpatrick raised the status of the Registrar of the Supreme Court to the level of a deputy head in the civil service.[6]

Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada

[edit]

On June 4, 1906, Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier appointed Fitzpatrick the 5th Chief Justice of Canada after the retirement of Henri Elzéar Taschereau on May 2, 1906.[7] Personally, Fitzpatrick sought a role on the Supreme Court as early as 1904, but Prime Minister Laurier opposed his appointment, noting his importance to his Cabinet.[8] With his appointment to Chief Justice, Fitzpatrick became the only person appointed directly to the role since the first Chief Justice William Buell Richards, and the only person appointed to the role appointed without any prior judicial experience.[9]

Fitzpatrick and the Court took a narrow view of civil liberties. In Quong Wing v The King, the Court upheld a Saskatchewan law prohibiting white women from working for Chinese-Canadian men. In upholding the law, Fitzpatrick considered it similar to any other employment legislation, intended to "safeguard the bodily health, but also the morals of Canadian workers."[10][ps 1]

Snell and Vaughan note that the retirement of Chief Justice Samuel Henry Strong in 1902 led to an improvement in the inter-personal relationships of the Court. Several of the Justices made efforts to create a cooperative atmosphere at the Court.[11] Chief Justice Fitzpatrick's efforts were a main catalyst for this improvement. He secured a knighthood for the senior Puisne Justice Girouard.[12] When conflicts did arise, justices were cooperative and the issues did not linger.[12]

As Chief Justice, the Court made several changes to improve efficiency and administration for French language appeals. In 1907, to increase efficiency of the Court, the rules of the Court restricted the number of counsel that could be heard by each side of a case to two, and a maximum time of three hours for arguments.[13] In 1908, a French stenographer was appointed to the Court staff.[13] Additionally, Fitzpatrick made more frequent use of judicial conferences than his predecessors, and was known to consult Court staff members including his secretary and the Court Registrar on his draft decisions.[12]

Fitzpatrick continued to participate in politics on the bench, giving private political advice to active politicians.[14] Fitzpatrick lobbied the government to appoint Judge Cannon of Quebec to the Court upon the death of Justice Robert Sedgewick.[14] Fitzpatrick had a personal debt to Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier of $5,000.[14] Fitzpatrick did not only provide political advice to the Liberal government, but also recommended Senate appointments, legislation and provided political advice on issues in Quebec to the Borden government.[14] Snell and Vaughn note that Fitzpatrick acted as Prime Minister Borden's personal agent to the Quebec Conservative Party.[14]

On October 20, 1918, Fitzpatrick resigned as Chief Justice to accept an the Lieutenant Governor of Quebec.[7] Prime Minister Robert Borden appointed Louis Henry Davies of Prince Edward Island as Fitzpatrick's successor.

Lieutenant Governor of Quebec

[edit]

Fitzpatrick served as the 12th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec since Confederation until October 31, 1923.

Partway through his term as Lieutenant Governor, his wife's nephew (Louis-Alexandre Taschereau) became the Premier of Quebec.

Personal life

[edit]

On May 20, 1879, Fitzpatrick married Marie-Elmire-Corinne Caron. She was the daughter of René-Édouard Caron, 2nd Lieutenant Governor of Quebec, and his wife Marie-Joséphine De Blois.

He was knighted in 1907. Fitzpatrick died on June 17, 1942, at the age of 90 years and 6 months. He is interred in Sillery, at Saint-Michel Cemetery (cimetière Saint-Michel de Sillery).[15]

Electoral record

[edit]
1896 Canadian federal election: Quebec County
Party Candidate Votes
Liberal Charles Fitzpatrick 1,982
Liberal Jules-Joseph-Taschereau Frémont 1,058

By-election: On Mr. Fitzpatrick being appointed Solicitor General, 11 July 1896

By-election on 30 July 1896
Party Candidate Votes


Liberal Charles Fitzpatrick acclaimed
1900 Canadian federal election: Quebec County
Party Candidate Votes
Liberal Charles Fitzpatrick 2,201
Conservative L. A. Beaubien 911
1904 Canadian federal election: Quebec County
Party Candidate Votes
Liberal Charles Fitzpatrick 2,445
Conservative J. P. H. Pageot 271

Archives

[edit]

There is a Charles Fitzpatrick fonds at Library and Archives Canada.[16]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Canada, Supreme Court of; Canada, Public Works and Government Services (November 1, 2000). The Supreme Court of Canada and its Justices 1875–2000: La Cour suprême du Canada et ses juges 1875–2000. Dundurn. p. 48. ISBN 978-1-77070-095-6.
  2. ^ History of the Administration of the Earl of Dufferin in Canada, by William Leggo, Toronto: Lovell Printing and Publishing Company (1878), pg. 877
  3. ^ a b Canada, Supreme Court of (January 1, 2001). "Supreme Court of Canada – Biography – Charles Fitzpatrick". www.scc-csc.ca. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  4. ^ a b "Charles Fitzpatrick - National Assembly of Québec". www.assnat.qc.ca. Retrieved June 29, 2025.
  5. ^ Snell & Vaughan 1985, p. 69.
  6. ^ Snell & Vaughan 1985, p. 70.
  7. ^ a b Snell & Vaughan 1985, pp. 259–261.
  8. ^ Snell & Vaughan 1985, pp. 89–90.
  9. ^ Snell & Vaughan 1985, p. 90.
  10. ^ Snell & Vaughan 1985, p. 103.
  11. ^ Snell & Vaughan 1985, pp. 100–101.
  12. ^ a b c Snell & Vaughan 1985, p. 101.
  13. ^ a b Snell & Vaughan 1985, p. 100.
  14. ^ a b c d e Snell & Vaughan 1985, p. 94.
  15. ^ "Sir Charles Fitzpatrick P.C.G.C.M.G. 1851—1942: BillionGraves Record". BillionGraves.com. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
  16. ^ "Charles Fitzpatrick fonds, Library and Archives Canada". July 20, 2017. Retrieved September 3, 2020.

Primary sources

[edit]
  1. ^ Quong Wing v The King, 1914 CanLII 608, (1914) 49 SCR 440, Supreme Court (Canada)

Further reading

[edit]
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Charles Fitzpatrick.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Charles_Fitzpatrick&oldid=1298911629"