Alfred Évanturel

François Eugène Alfred Évanturel (August 31, 1846 – November 15, 1908) was speaker of the Legislature of Ontario in 1897-1902 and served as Liberal MLA for Prescott from 1886 to 1904. His name also appears in an anglicized form as Francis Evanturel.

Alfred Évanturel
Ontario MPP
In office
1886–1904
Preceded byAlbert Hagar
Succeeded byLouis-Joseph Labrosse
ConstituencyPrescott
9th Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario
In office
1898–1902
Preceded byWilliam Balfour
Succeeded byWilliam Andrew Charlton
Personal details
Born
François Eugène Alfred Évanturel

(1846-08-31)August 31, 1846
Quebec City, Canada East
DiedNovember 15, 1908(1908-11-15) (aged 62)
Alfred, Ontario
Political partyLiberal
PortfolioMinister Without Portfolio (1904–1905)

He was born at Quebec City in 1846, the son of François Évanturel, and studied at the Petit Séminaire de Québec and the Université Laval. He was called to the Lower Canada bar in 1871 and set up practice at Quebec. In 1873, he married Maria Victoria Louisa Lee. The following year, he went to Ottawa, where he was employed in the secretariat of the Minister of Public Works. After working with the Post Office Department, he moved to Alfred, Ontario in 1881. He became a strong proponent for Francophone rights in the province and was particularly opposed to the policy of English-only schools supported by the provincial Conservatives. In 1886, he established a weekly newspaper L'Interprète in Alfred. In 1892, the paper was purchased by Henri Bourassa and relocated to Montebello, Quebec. He was made speaker in the legislature as a result of pressure from Wilfrid Laurier and became the first and, to date, the only Francophone to occupy that post. In 1904, he became a minister without portfolio in the provincial cabinet, thus becoming the first Francophone cabinet minister in the province.

He died in Alfred in 1908.

His son Gustave served in both the House of Commons and the Ontario assembly.

The township of Evanturel took its name from Évanturel.

References
  • "Alfred Évanturel". Dictionary of Canadian Biography (online ed.). University of Toronto Press. 1979–2016.
  • Ontario Legislative Assembly parliamentary history (archived)


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