Auguste-Réal Angers
A Quebec jurist and statesman who navigated the turbulent politics of Confederation as a fierce defender of provincial rights.
1837–1919 (age 82)·Canadian politician and Lieutenant Governor of Quebec·Birthday: October 4
Biography
Auguste-Réal Angers built a formidable career at the intersection of law and politics, operating with the stern authority of a judge even when off the bench. Born in Quebec City, he established himself as a respected lawyer before entering the federal political arena as a Conservative. His tenure was marked by a staunch belief in provincial autonomy, a principle he later upheld with controversial vigor as Lieutenant Governor of Quebec when he dismissed the province's Liberal premier. This decisive, divisive act was the apex of his view that the Crown's representative had a duty to intervene when constitutional principles were at stake. After his vice-regal term, he moved to the Senate, where his legal mind dissected legislation. Angers was a figure of rigid principle, embodying the conservative, Catholic nationalism of his time and leaving a legacy etched more in constitutional precedent than popular acclaim.
#1 When Auguste-Réal Was Born
The biggest hits of 1837
Auguste-Réal's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1837Born
1842Started school
1850Became a teenager
1853Could drive
1855Could vote
1858Turned 21
1867Turned 30
President: Andrew Johnson
1877Turned 40
President: Rutherford B. Hayes
1887Turned 50
President: Grover Cleveland
1897Turned 60
President: William McKinley
1907Turned 70
Financial panic grips Wall Street
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1917Turned 80
Russian Revolution overthrows the tsar; US enters WWI
President: Woodrow Wilson
1919Died at 82
Treaty of Versailles signed; Prohibition ratified
President: Woodrow Wilson
Key Achievements
- Served as the fifth Lieutenant Governor of Quebec from 1887 to 1892.
- Exercised the vice-regal power of dismissal by removing Quebec Premier Honoré Mercier and his cabinet in 1891.
- Represented multiple Quebec ridings in the House of Commons as a Conservative MP.
- Appointed to the Senate of Canada in 1892, where he served until his death.
- Served as a federal Minister of Agriculture and later as President of the Privy Council.
Did You Know?
He was knighted in 1890, becoming Sir Auguste-Réal Angers.
His dismissal of Premier Mercier was sparked by a scandal involving the province's funds, though the decision was highly politicized.
He was the brother-in-law of Sir Adolphe-Philippe Caron, a prominent Canadian politician and Minister of Militia.
Before politics, he was a professor of law at Université Laval.
“The law is the foundation of order, and order is the foundation of a civilized society.”
