View source for Gaspard Fauteux

{{Short description|Canadian politician (1898–1963)}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}}

{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix  = [[The Honourable]]
| name              = Gaspard Fauteux
| honorific-suffix  = {{post-nominals|country=CAN|PC|size=100%}}
| image             = 
| imagesize         = 
| office1           = 21st [[Speaker of the House of Commons (Canada)|Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada]]
| term_start1       = September 6, 1945
| term_end1         = September 14, 1949
| predecessor1      = [[James Allison Glen]]
| successor1        = [[William Ross Macdonald]]
| office3           = Member of the [[Legislative Assembly of Quebec]] for [[Montréal–Sainte-Marie]]
| predecessor3      = [[Camillien Houde]]
| successor3        = [[Candide Rochefort]]
| term_start3       = [[1931 Quebec general election|August 24, 1931]]
| term_end3         = [[1935 Quebec general election|November 25, 1935]]
| constituency_MP2  = [[Sainte-Marie (federal electoral district)|St. Mary]]
| parliament2       = Canadian
| predecessor2      = [[Hermas Deslauriers]]
| successor2        = [[Hector Dupuis]]
| term_start2       = February 9, 1942
| term_end2         = October 3, 1950
| order             = 19th
| office            = Lieutenant Governor of Quebec
| predecessor       = [[Eugène Fiset]]
| successor         = [[Onésime Gagnon]]
| term_start        = October 3, 1950
| term_end          = February 14, 1958
| monarch           = [[George VI]]<br />[[Elizabeth II]]
| governor_general  = [[Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis|The Viscount Alexander of Tunis]]<br />[[Vincent Massey]]
| premier           = [[Maurice Duplessis]]
| birth_date        = {{birth date|1898|08|27}}
| birth_place       = [[Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec]]
| death_date        = {{death date and age|1963|03|29|1898|08|27}}
| death_place       = [[Montreal]], [[Quebec]]
| nationality       = Canadian
| spouse            = 
| party             = [[Liberal Party of Canada|Liberal]]
| otherparty        = [[Quebec Liberal Party]]
| relations         = [[Honoré Mercier]], Grandfather<br />[[Joseph Godbout]], Grandfather<br />[[Lomer Gouin]], Uncle<br />[[Claude Castonguay]], Son-in-law
| children          = 
| residence         = 
| alma_mater        = 
| occupation        = 
| profession        = 
| religion          = 
}}
'''Gaspard Fauteux''', {{Post-nominals|country=CAN|PC}} (August 27, 1898 – March 29, 1963) was a [[Canadians|Canadian]] parliamentarian, [[Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada]] (1945–1949), and the [[List of lieutenant governors of Quebec#Lieutenant Governors of Quebec, 1867 – present|19th]] [[Lieutenant Governor of Quebec]] (1950–1958).

He was born in [[Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec|S<sup>t</sup>-Hyacinthe]], Quebec, to a political family. His grandfather, [[Honoré Mercier]] and his uncle, [[Lomer Gouin]], were both former [[Premier of Quebec|Premiers of Quebec]]. His grandmother's second husband was [[Liberal Party of Canada|Liberal]] [[Member of Parliament (Canada)|Member of Parliament]] (MP) and later [[Senate of Canada|Senator]] [[Joseph Godbout]]. His brother was the judge [[Gérald Fauteux]].

Fauteux married Marguerite Barré, daughter of the Canadian artist and animator [[Raoul Barré]], on September 18, 1923. The couple had 4 children; Roger, Paul, Marie (Mimi) and Gaspard Jr.

A dentist by training and then a businessman, he first entered politics at the provincial election defeating [[Conservative Party of Quebec (historical)|Quebec Conservative Party]] leader and [[Mayor of Montreal]] [[Camillien Houde]] to win a seat in the [[Quebec National Assembly|Quebec legislature]] for the [[Quebec Liberal Party]]. He lost his seat in [[1935 Quebec general election|1935]] and returned to business. He was first elected to the [[House of Commons of Canada]] from the Quebec [[electoral district (Canada)|riding]] of St. Mary in a 1942 [[by-election]], and was re-elected in the [[1945 Canadian federal election|1945 federal election]] by again defeating Camillien Houde. He was re-elected in the [[1949 Canadian federal election|1949 election]].

In Parliament, Fauteux opposed [[conscription]] and was a delegate to the [[United Nations]] Relief and Rehabilitation Conference that followed [[World War II]].

Despite his lack of legal training or long tenure in the House, he was tapped by Prime Minister [[William Lyon Mackenzie King]] to become Speaker following the 1945 election.

His inexperience in parliamentary procedure caused him difficulties in the Chair. He had a habit of making decisions before MPs had presented their arguments. He preferred the social aspects of the position and entertained and travelled frequently.

He returned to the [[backbench]]es after the 1949 election and, in 1950 was appointed [[Lieutenant-Governor of Quebec]] by [[Governor General of Canada|Governor General]] [[Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis|Harold Alexander, Earl Alexander of Tunis]], on the advice of his prime minister, [[Louis St. Laurent]].

After his death in 1963, he was entombed at the [[Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery]] in Montreal.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Répertoire des personnages inhumés au cimetière ayant marqué l'histoire de notre société|publisher=Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery|location=Montreal|language=fr}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}
* {{Quebec MNA biography|fauteux-gaspard-3137}}
* [http://faculty.marianopolis.edu/c.belanger/quebechistory/encyclopedia/GaspardFauteux-LieutenantGouverneurduQuebec-HistoireduQuebec.htm The Quebec History Encyclopedia entry] {{in lang|fr}}
* {{Canadian Parliament links|ID=83}}

{{Speakers of the Canadian House of Commons}}
{{QCLG}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fauteux, Gaspard}}
[[Category:1898 births]]
[[Category:1963 deaths]]
[[Category:Speakers of the House of Commons of Canada]]
[[Category:Lieutenant governors of Quebec]]
[[Category:Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada]]
[[Category:Quebec Liberal Party MNAs]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Quebec]]
[[Category:People from Saint-Hyacinthe]]
[[Category:Politicians from Montérégie]]
[[Category:Burials at Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery]]
[[Category:20th-century Canadian dentists]]
[[Category:20th-century members of the National Assembly of Quebec]]