Home > Jean-Charles Chapais

Chapais was born in Rivière-Ouelle, a small town in Kamouraska, Quebec, and was educated in Nicolet . Following his success as a farmer and merchant, in 1845 he became the first mayor of Saint Denis , the town he had lived in from 1833. The following year, he married Georgina Dionne; they had six children together.

At the prompting of his father-in-law, Chapais entered regional politics. In 1851, he was elected for the first time to the Canada East legislative assembly; he was eventually to serve a total of five terms representing Kamouraska. Following the Charlottetown Conference in September 1864, Chapais attended the Quebec Conference to negotiate on behalf of Canada East for provincial governments to have greater power in the Canadian federal system.

Chapais was Commissioner of Public Works in the Great Coalition of 1864 to 1867, and is credited with establishing the Intercolonial Railway and expanding the Grand Trunk Railway. In 1867 the British North America Act was passed, creating the Dominion of Canada, and Chapais became the first Minister of AgricultureIn the Cabinet of Canada, The Minister of Agriculture is responsible for overseeing the federal government's agriculture department, currently known as Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Since 1995, the post has been more formally termed the Minister of Ag. At this time, he also switched to representing ChamplainChamplain is a township in eastern Ontario, Canada, in the United Counties of Prescott and Russell on the Ottawa River. According to the 2001 Statistics Canada Census: Population: 8,591 % Change ( 1996- 2001): 2. 6 Dwellings: 3,444 Area (sq. 18 Density (p in the Quebec legislature, due to a scandal over electoral irregularities in Kamouraska. In 1868, Jean-Charles Chapais entered the Canadian SenateThe Senate of Canada is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. The senate has 105 members who are appointed by the Governor General on advice from the Prime Minister and serve until the age of 75. 24 from Ontario; 24 from Quebec; 24 are from the Mar, an office he held for the rest of his life.

As Minister, Chapais was in charge of more than simply agricultureFarming, ploughing rice paddy, in Indonesia Agriculture is the process of producing food, feed, fiber and other desired products by cultivation of certain plants and the raising of domesticated animals (livestock). Agriculture is also known as farming .: the department was also responsible for the import and export of animals, immigrationImmigration is the act of moving to or settling in another country or region, temporarily or permanently. An immigrant is usually someone who intends to reside permanently, and not a casual visitor or traveler. Immigration means "in-migration" into a coun, the censusA census is the process of obtaining information about every member of a population (not necessarily a human population). It can be contrasted with sampling in which information is only obtained from a subset of a population. As such it is a method used f, patentA patent is a set of exclusive rights granted by a government to an inventor or applicant for a limited amount of time (normally 20 years from the filing date). The term "patent" originates from the term patere which means to lay open (to public inspectio administration and trademarkSee also: brand Bass Red Triangle, was the first trademark registered in Britain in 1876. A trademark ( Commonwealth English: trade mark is a distinctive name, phrase, symbol, design, picture, or style used by a business to identify itself and its products, public health, manufacturing, and the arts. After less than three years, he was replaced by Christopher Dunkin , which he greatly resented. His new position of Receiver General was significantly less prestigious and powerful, requiring little more than making and accepting payments on behalf of the government. (Today, the portfolio has passed to the Minister of Public Works.) Chapais resigned in 1873, saying that he wanted to spend more time with his family and business.

Chapais died in 1885, and is buried in Saint-Denis.