Person

Lafontaine, L. H. (Louis Hippolyte), Sir, 1807-1864

• La Fontaine, Louis-Hippolyte
• LaFontaine, Louis-Hippolyte
• Ménard, Louis-Hippolyte

1807-1864

Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine was a politician born in 1807 in Boucherville, then part of Lower Canada (now Quebec). After abandoning his college study of classics, Lafontaine began working as a law clerk in the office of François Roy and became interested in the legal profession. He was called to the bar in 1828 and was successfully elected to the House of Assembly of Lower Canada in 1830, representing Terrebonne. On 9 July 1831, Lafontaine married Adèle Berthelot in Quebec. Lafontaine supported Papineau and was in favour of radical reform but opposed the uprisings of 1837 and 1838, rejecting violence and acting as a mediator between the government and the Patriotes. Though he was arrested during the rebellion, he was quickly released without a trial. After the union of Upper and Lower Canada in 1841, Lafontaine ran for office and built an alliance and friendship with Upper Canada reformer Robert Baldwin. In 1842, Lafontaine and Baldwin were asked to form an administration representing the Reform interests of both Canadas, but they resigned in protest after it proved impossible to work with Governor General Sir Charles Metcalfe. For the next four years, Lafontaine served as the leader of the opposition, advocating especially for the recognition of French as an official language. In 1848, Lafontaine formed a successful government at the invitation of Lord Elgin, who was fully supportive of reform. Lafontaine retired in 1851 but was appointed chief justice of Canada East (now Quebec) in 1853. In 1854, Lafontaine was made a baronet. Lafontaine’s first wife died in 1859. He remarried on 30 January 1861 in Montreal, to Julie-Élisabeth-Geneviève Morrison, and the two had a son, Louis-Hippolyte, on 11 July 1862. Lafontaine died on 26 February 1864 in Montreal, Canada East. Lafontaine’s wife had a second son several months after his death, but both of their sons died in childhood.