Joseph Tassé

Biography

Joseph Tassé (23 October 1848 – 17 January 1895) was a Canadian writer, translator, journalist, and parliamentarian whose career spanned the formative decades of post-Confederation Canada. Born in L'Abord-à-Plouffe, Lower Canada, in the region now encompassed by modern Laval, Quebec, he received a classical education at the Collège Bourget before articling in law offices in Montreal, Plattsburgh, New York, and Ottawa. He never entered legal practice, however, and instead turned to journalism, a field that would define the first phase of his public life.

From the 1860s onward, Tassé contributed to several prominent French-language newspapers, including Ottawa's Le Canada and, from 1868, Montreal's La Minerve. At La Minerve he began as a translator before working his way up to the position of editor. His facility with language led to a broader appointment in 1872, when he became the official translator for the House of Commons of Canada, a post he held for six years. During this period he also pursued serious historical research, producing a series of articles on French-Canadian explorers of the western territories. This scholarly effort culminated in his two-volume work Les Canadiens de l'Ouest, published in 1878, which remains a notable contribution to the historiography of French-Canadian exploration.

Having established himself as both a man of letters and a figure within the corridors of Parliament, Tassé turned his ambitions toward elected office. A committed Conservative, he was first elected to the House of Commons in the federal election of 1878, representing the Ontario electoral district of the City of Ottawa, and successfully retained that seat in 1882. His political career was shaped in part by his steadfast support for the Conservative government's management of the Red River Rebellion and the execution of Louis Riel in 1885, positions that proved costly when he stood for the Quebec riding of Laprairie in 1887 and was defeated by a margin of only 23 votes.

Despite this narrow defeat, Tassé remained connected to Canadian public life. On 9 February 1891, on the recommendation of Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald, he was appointed to the Senate of Canada, where he represented the senatorial division of De Salaberry, Quebec. He served in the Senate until his death in Montreal on 17 January 1895. Throughout his career, Tassé was also recognized for his contributions to Canadian literature and scholarship, and he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.