Sir Georges-Étienne Cartier, 1814-73

[Source: A Cyclopaedia of Canadian Biography Being Chiefly the Men of the Time. Geo. Maclean Rose, ed. Toronto: Rose Publishing Co., 1886-88.]

Georges-Étienne Cartier was born on the 6th of September, 1814 at St. Antoine, Quebec. In 1835 he commenced the practice of law and by the indomitable force of character which so contributed to his subsequent political prominence, he soon succeeded in forcing his way to the front rank of the legal fraternity. M. Cartier was first elected to parliament for the County of Verchères in 1848; on the 24th of May, 1856 he became Attorney-General for Lower Canada. On the 6th of August, 1858 there was ushered in the Macdonald-Cartier government. He is looked upon, and perhaps deservedly, by the French-Canadian people as the greatest statesman that the French Province has produced. He was instrumental in the abolition of seignorial tenure; making the Legislative Council elective; the secularization of the Clergy Reserves and in bringing about Confederation [see British North America Act]. He took an active part in the Canadian Pacific Railway project. The great secret of his success was his strong ambition, and his almost phenomenal perseverance and energy. It was customary with those who heard him make speeches to say that after he sat down, that nothing more remained to be said. He had the gift too, of being a master of both French and English, an accomplishment necessary in a prominent Canadian statesman.