Aristide Blais
Senator for St. Albert, Alberta
In office
January 29, 1940  November 10, 1964
Appointed byWilliam Lyon Mackenzie King
Personal details
Born(1875-10-18)October 18, 1875
Berthier, Quebec
DiedNovember 10, 1964(1964-11-10) (aged 89)
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Political partyLiberal
Children2
Alma materUniversité Laval
OccupationPhysician, surgeon
Military service
RankLieutenant-Colonel
UnitCanadian Army Medical Corps

Aristide Blais FRCS (October 18, 1875 November 10, 1964) was a Canadian physician and Senator.

Early life

Blais was born on October 18, 1875, in Berthier, Quebec, to Narcisse Blais and Philomène Buteau.[1] He attended Laval University earning a Bachelor of Science and medical degree in 1899.[1][2] Blais did two years of post-graduate medical studies in Paris.[3] He married Antoinette Bolduc on April 9, 1903, and they had one daughter together. He later married Marie Moriarty and they also had one daughter together.[1] Early in his medical career, Blais partnered with French-Canadian physician and Senator Philippe Roy in practice.[3]

During the First World War Blais served as a captain in the Canadian Army Medical Corps, later promoted to lieutenant-colonel, and was appointed in charge of the No. 6 Casualty Clearing Hospital in Saint-Cloud, France.[1] During his time he also served with the 38th Battalion and the 11th Field Ambulance Corps.[3]

Political life

Blais was summoned to the Canadian Senate in 1940 by Prime Minister Mackenzie King. A Liberal, he represented the senatorial division of St. Albert, Alberta. Blais publicly noted his appointment to the Senate was a tribute to French Canadians in Alberta, and a fulfillment of former Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier's promise upon Alberta entering Confederation in 1905, that French Canadians in the province would always have a Senate representative.[3]

Blais served until his death on November 10, 1964, at 89 years of age, at Shaughnessy military Hospital in Vancouver, British Columbia.[3]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Normandin, G. Pierre, ed. (1964). "The Canadian Parliamentary Guide". The Canadian Parliamentary Guide = Guide Parlementaire Canadien. Ottawa: Mortimer Company Ltd.: 75–76. ISBN 9781414401416. ISSN 0315-6168. OCLC 893686591. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
  2. "Aristide Blais". shfa.ca. The Société historique francophone de l'Alberta. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Aristide Blais: Doctor Served As Senator From Alberta". The Globe and Mail. November 12, 1964. p. 10.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.