For the week of July 29, 2024.
On August 4, 1824, Antoine Gérin-Lajoie was born in Yamachiche, Lower Canada (now Quebec). He went on to become a lawyer, civil servant, poet, journalist, writer, librarian, and historian. As the author of several famous fiction works and the founder of influential literary and nationalist journals, he significantly contributed to French Canadian literature in the 19th century.
Gérin-Lajoie completed his classical studies at the Séminaire de Nicolet. While there, he composed the poem Un Canadien Errant (1842) in memory of Canadians exiled after the uprisings of 1837-1838. This sad ballad sung throughout Lower Canada expressed many French Canadians’ feelings of loss at the time. He also helped edit the weekly Le Moniteur at the Séminaire de Nicolet and published Le Jeune Latour (1844), one of the first tragedies in the history of French Canadian theater. On graduation in 1845, he briefly visited New York to learn English.
On his return, Gérin-Lajoie became a journalist with the Montréal newspaper La Minerve in 1844. That same year, he helped found the Canadian Institute of Montréal, serving as its secretary (1844) and then president (1845–1846). In 1847, he gave up journalism to study law. Called to the bar in 1848, he practiced law briefly before joining the Department of Public Works as a civil servant in 1849. That same year, protestors set fire to Montréal’s Marché Sainte-Anne, which housed the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada. In the aftermath, he was not sure if he wanted to remain in the public service. He left his job only to come back and then quit again before finally returning for good. The seat of government alternated between Toronto and Québec City until Ottawa became the capital in 1866, so he moved back and forth with the rest of the public service. In Toronto in 1858, he married Joséphine-Henriette, the eldest daughter of his close friend and Under-Secretary of the Province of Canada Étienne Parent.
Gérin-Lajoie remained active on the literary front during this period. He co-founded the magazines Les Soirées Canadiennes (1861–1865) and Le Foyer Canadien (1863–1866). He published the first part of the novel Jean Rivard, Jean Rivard, le défricheur, in Les Soirées in 1862, and the second, Jean Rivard, économiste, in Le Foyer in 1864. The novel tells the story of a man who chooses the difficult path of founding a village and then a town in the Eastern Townships, rather than seek his fortune in the city or emigrate to the United States. Gerin-Lajoie advocated for a return to the land and the promotion of religion, agriculture, and intellectual learning. The work enjoyed an exceptional circulation in the 19th century, with 16 editions.
Gérin-Lajoie moved to Ottawa in 1866. He was the librarian responsible for the publication of the first French catalogue of the Library of Parliament. He also a historian, whose publications included Dix ans au Canada, de 1840 à 1850: Histoire de l'établissement du gouvernement responsable. This well-researched account covered the story of the burning of Parliament, which also featured in the novel Jean Rivard. The book was published in 1888, six years after Gérin-Lajoie's death.
Antoine Gérin-Lajoie was designated a national historic person in 1939. The Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada advises the Government of Canada on the commemoration of national historic persons—individuals who have made unique and enduring contributions to the history of Canada.
The National Program of Historical Commemoration relies on the participation of Canadians in the identification of places, events, and persons of national historic significance. Any member of the public can nominate a topic for consideration by the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada. Learn how to participate in this process.