Charles Laberge

rdf:langString Charles Laberge

rdf:langString Charles Laberge (October 21, 1827 – August 3, 1874) was a Quebec lawyer, journalist and political figure. He was born in Montreal, Lower Canada in 1827 and studied at the Séminaire de Saint-Hyacinthe from 1838 to 1845, when he completed his classical studies. During his time in school, he helped found the Institut canadien de Montréal. He articled in law with René-Auguste-Richard Hubert at Montreal and was admitted to the bar in 1848. Laberge entered practice with Toussaint-Antoine-Rodolphe Laflamme, later setting up on his own at . He was an early contributor to the newspaper . He supported annexation with the United States. In 1854, Laberge was elected to the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada for Iberville as a member of the parti rouge. He was reelected in 1858 and was named solicitor general later that year; he retired from politics in 1860. Laberge was named Queen's Counsel in 1858. As a loyal Catholic, he was greatly disturbed when the church condemned the Institut canadien de Montréal in 1858. He married Hélène-Olive, daughter of Joseph-Ovide Turgeon, in 1859. In 1860, with Félix-Gabriel Marchand, he found the paper Le Franco-Canadien; he also contributed to L'Ordre at Montreal. In 1863, he was appointed judge in the Quebec Superior Court at Sorel. He opposed Confederation, but ran unsuccessfully in Saint-Jean in 1867. He served two terms as mayor of Saint-Jean-d'Iberville. In 1872, he became editor of at Montreal. He died in Montreal in 1874 and was buried in the Notre-Dame-des-Neiges Cemetery.