View source for Hector-Louis Langevin

{{Short description|Canadian Father of Confederation (1826–1906)}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2025}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix    = [[The Honourable]]
| name                = Sir Hector-Louis Langevin
| honorific-suffix    = {{Post-nominals|country=CAN|size=100%|PC|KCMG|CB|KC}}
| image               = HectorLangevin23.jpg
| caption             = Langevin in 1873
| office2             = [[Secretary of State for Canada]]
| term_start2         = July 1, 1867
| term_end2           = December 8, 1867
| predecessor2        = Office created
| successor2          = [[James Cox Aikins]]
| office3             = [[Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs|Superintendent-General of Indian Affairs]]
| term_start3         = May 22, 1868
| term_end3           = December 7, 1869
| predecessor3        = Office created
| successor3          = [[Joseph Howe]]
| office4             = 10th [[Mayor of Quebec City]]
| predecessor4        = [[Joseph Morrin]]
| successor4          = [[Thomas Pope (Canadian politician)|Thomas Pope]]
| term_start4         = 1858
| term_end4           = 1861
| office5             = [[Postmaster General of Canada]]
| term_start5         = October 19, 1878
| term_end5           = May 19, 1879
| successor5          = [[Alexander Campbell (Canadian senator)|Alexander Campbell]]
| predecessor5        = [[Lucius Seth Huntington]]
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1826|8|25}}
| birth_place         = Quebec City, Lower Canada
| death_date          = {{death date and age|1906|6|11|1826|8|25}}
| death_place         = Quebec City, Quebec
| nationality         = 
| spouse              = 
| party               = [[Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942)|Conservative]]
| otherparty          = [[Parti bleu]]
| relations           = [[Jean Langevin]] (brother)
| children            = 
| residence           = 
| alma_mater          = 
| occupation          = 
| profession          = {{hlist
|[[Editor]]
|[[Lawyer]]
}}
| footnotes           = {{Reflist|group=infobox}}
}}
'''Sir Hector-Louis Langevin''' (August 25, 1826 &ndash; June 11, 1906) was a Canadian lawyer, politician, and one of the [[Fathers of Confederation]].

Education
Langevin was born in [[Quebec City]] in 1826. He studied law{{where|date=June 2021}} and was called to the [[Bar of Quebec|bar]] in 1850.

==Political career==
In 1856, he was elected to the municipal council of Quebec City and served as mayor from 1858 to 1861. In 1857, he was elected [[Member of Parliament (Canada)|Member of Parliament]] for [[Dorchester (federal electoral district)|Dorchester]] in the [[Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada]] as a member of the [[Progressive Conservative Party of Canada|Conservative Party]]. He held various positions in [[Canadian Cabinet|Cabinet]], including Solicitor General (1864–66), [[Postmaster General of Canada|Postmaster General]] (1866–67), [[Secretary of State for Canada]] (1867–69), [[Superintendent-General of Indian Affairs]] (1868–69), [[Minister of Public Works (Canada)|Minister of Public Works]] (1869–73) and acting [[Minister of Militia and Defence]] (1873). Langevin also attended all three conferences leading to [[Canadian Confederation|Confederation]]. He left politics in 1873 due to his role in the [[Pacific Scandal]].

In [[1871 Quebec general election|1871]], he was elected to the [[Legislative Assembly of Quebec]] in the provincial electoral district of [[Québec-Centre (provincial electoral district)|Québec-Centre]]. At the time, [[dual mandate]]s were still allowed. He served one term, until 1874.

In 1876, he was re-elected in the riding of [[Charlevoix (federal electoral district)|Charlevoix]]. His opponent contested the election and it was declared invalid, but he won the [[By-elections to the 3rd Canadian Parliament|subsequent by-election]] in 1877. He was defeated in [[Rimouski (federal electoral district)|Rimouski]] in 1878 but elected by acclamation in the riding of [[Trois-Rivières (federal electoral district)|Trois-Rivières]] in the same year. Langevin became Minister of Public Works again in 1879. He lobbied behind the scenes against the hanging of [[Louis Riel]] in 1885 and was one of the few Conservative Members of Parliament to survive the resulting backlash in the province of [[Quebec]] in 1887.

He was promised the post of [[Lieutenant Governor of Quebec]] by the new Conservative Prime Minister [[John Joseph Caldwell Abbott|John Abbott]] if he resigned as Minister of Public Works. Langevin stepped down in 1891 but Abbott appointed [[Joseph-Adolphe Chapleau]] instead. That year, Langevin was implicated with [[Thomas McGreevy]] in what became known as the "McGreevy-Langevin scandal" over kickbacks to McGreevy associated with federal contracts granted to him by the Department of Public Works overseen by Langevin. He retired to the backbenches and then left politics in 1896.

Outside politics, he was previously a newspaper editor.<ref>{{cite book|last=Hopkins|first=J. Castell|title=An historical sketch of Canadian literature and journalism|year=1898|publisher=Lincott|location=Toronto|isbn=0665080484|page=225|url=https://archive.org/stream/cihm_08048#page/n35/mode/1up}}</ref>

==View on Indigenous Canadians==
In 1883, he stated in [[Parliament of Canada|Parliament]] "In order to educate the (‘Indian’) children properly we must separate them from their families. Some people may say that this is hard but if we want to civilize them we must do that."<ref>{{Cite web|last=Enberg|first=Susan|date=2015|title=Making Erasure Manifest: The Importance of Archives and Reenactment in the Case of Canada's Indian Residential School Survivors|url=https://www.culturalsurvival.org/sites/default/files/media/making_erasure_manifest_-_cultural_survival_submission_feb_2015-1.pdf}}</ref> "The fact is that if you wish to educate the children you must separate them from their parents during the time they are being taught. If you leave them in the family they may know how to read and write, but they will remain savages, whereas by separating them in the way proposed, they acquire the habits and tastes…of civilized people."<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Keesmaat|first1=Sylvia C.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A7iGDwAAQBAJ&q=%22If+you+leave+them+in+the+family+they+may+know+how+to+read+and+write%2C+but+they+will+remain+savages%2C+whereas+by+separating+them+in+the+way+proposed%2C+they+acquire+the+habits+and+tastes+%E2%80%A6+of+civilized+people.%22&pg=PT80|title=Romans Disarmed: Resisting Empire, Demanding Justice|last2=Walsh|first2=Brian J.|date=2019-05-21|publisher=Brazos Press|isbn=978-1-4934-1836-7|language=en}}</ref>

==Posthumous recognition==
The [[Langevin Block]] office building on [[Parliament Hill]] and the Langevin Bridge in [[Calgary]] were named in his honour. Langevin's group of honours insignia was sold at auction in Ottawa on May 18, 2010, for $8,000.00

On January 23, 2017, [[Calgary City Council]] voted to rename the Langevin Bridge to the [[Reconciliation Bridge]].<ref>{{citation |url=https://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/langevin-bridge-officially-renamed-reconciliation-bridge-after-council-vote |first=Annalise |last=Klingbeil |title=Langevin Bridge officially renamed Reconciliation Bridge after council vote |publisher=[[Calgary Herald]] |date=2017-01-23}}</ref> In June 2017 it was announced the Langevin Block would be renamed to the [[Office of the Prime Minister and Privy Council]] building due to Langevin's involvement in the [[Canadian Indian residential school system]].<ref>{{cite news|title=PM renames Langevin Block out of respect for Indigenous Peoples|url=http://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/pm-renames-langevin-block-out-of-respect-for-indigenous-peoples-1.3469526|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170624003501/http://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/father-of-confederation-s-name-stripped-from-prime-minister-s-office-building-1.3469526|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 24, 2017|agency=CTV News}}</ref> In June 2021, a Calgary Board of Education public school was renamed Riverside School, after being Langevin school from 1936 until 2021.

==Personal life==
Langevin's brother, [[Jean Langevin]], was a Roman Catholic bishop.

== Archives ==
There is a Hector-Louis Langevin [[fonds]] at [[Library and Archives Canada]]<ref>{{Cite web|title=Hector-Louis Langevin fonds, Library and Archives Canada|date = 20 July 2017|url=http://central.bac-lac.gc.ca/.redirect?app=fonandcol&id=99027&lang=eng}}</ref> and a family Hector Langevin fonds at [[Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Hector Langevin family fonds, Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec|url=https://advitam.banq.qc.ca/notice/299268}}</ref>

== Electoral history ==

{{1867 Canadian federal election/Dorchester}}
{{1872 Canadian federal election/Dorchester}}
{{1891 Canadian federal election/Richelieu}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20051204094111/http://www.collectionscanada.ca/confederation/023001-2356-e.html National Library of Canada biography]
* {{Quebec MNA biography|langevin-hector-louis-3949}}
* {{DictCanbio|ID=6840}}
* {{Canadian Parliament links|ID=12908}}

{{Mayor of Quebec City}}
{{CA-Postmasters General}}
{{CA-Ministers of Defence}}
{{CA-Secretaries of State of Canada}}
{{CA-Ministers of Public Works}}
{{CA-Superintendents-General of Indian Affairs}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Langevin, Hector-Louis}}
[[Category:1826 births]]
[[Category:1906 deaths]]
[[Category:19th-century mayors of places in Quebec]]
[[Category:19th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada]]
[[Category:19th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Quebec]]
[[Category:Canadian Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George]]
[[Category:Companions of the Order of the Bath]]
[[Category:Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) MPs]]
[[Category:Conservative Party of Quebec MNAs]]
[[Category:Fathers of Confederation]]
[[Category:Lawyers in Quebec]]
[[Category:Mayors of Quebec City]]
[[Category:Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Quebec]]
[[Category:Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from Canada East]]
[[Category:Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada]]
[[Category:Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada)]]
[[Category:Postmasters general of Canada]]
[[Category:Quebec lieutenants]]