Joseph Choquette

Career

Choquette entered parliament via an August 9, 1943 by-election in Stanstead in the Eastern Townships of Quebec which he stood in the midsts of the Conscription Crisis for the anti-draft party. He defeated former Member of Parliament Robert Greig Davidson of the governing Liberal Party of Canada by more than 1200 votes. The by-election had been called as a result of Davidson"s victory in the 1940 election victory being overturned by the courts due to voting irregularities.

He sat in the House of Commons for two years before being defeated in the 1945 federal election by Progressive Conservative John Thomas Hackett by less than 500 votes.

Outside of his brief parliamentary career, Choquette served as secretary-treasurer of the municipality of Sainte-Catherine-de-Hatley, Quebec for 32 years and operated a farm in the municipality. He was also Diocesan President of the Catholic Farmers Union for several years.

Achievements

• While Davidson won most of the English vote in the by-election, Choquette cornered the francophone vote with the support of the president of the Catholic Farmers Union and of legendary Quebec politician Henri Bourassa who campaigned on his behalf.

Membership

He was the first Member of Parliament to have been elected to the Canadian House of Commons representing the Bloc populaire canadien and was also the last surviving member of the Bloc populaire"s caucus when he died in 1999 at the age of 93.