Background
He was born in Saint Boniface, Manitoba, the son of Jean-Baptiste Bérard, dit Lépine and Julia Henry.
He was born in Saint Boniface, Manitoba, the son of Jean-Baptiste Bérard, dit Lépine and Julia Henry.
He represented Saint Francois Xavier East in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1874 to 1878. He managed a company which transported goods west and south from Winnipeg using Red River carts. In 1882, he moved to Saskatchewan, settling near Saint Louis.
He served as a councillor in the provisional government created by Riel during the North-West Rebellion.
Lépine fought at the Battle of Fish Creek and surrendered to General Frederick Dobson Middleton after the defeat at Batoche. He was convicted of high treason and sent to Stony Mountain Penitentiary in August 1885, serving only about seven months of his seven-year sentence.
In 1896, he was given an appointment in the Indian agency at Battleford. Lépine died in Saint Louis the following year.