# Charles Fitzpatrick

Sir Charles Fitzpatrick, GCMG, PC (December 19, 1851 – June 17, 1942) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as Minister of Justice of Canada, as Chief Justice of Canada and then as Lieutenant Governor of Quebec.

## Biography

Fitzpatrick was born in Quebec City, Canada East, to John Fitzpatrick and Mary Connolly. He studied at Laval University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree (1873) and a Bachelor of Laws degree (1876), receiving the Dufferin Silver Medal. Called to the bar of Quebec in 1876, he established his practice in Quebec City and later founded the law firm of Fitzpatrick & Taschereau.
In 1885, he acted as chief counsel to Louis Riel, who was on trial for leading the North-West Rebellion. Riel was found guilty and sentenced to death.
Fitzpatrick entered politics in 1890, winning election to the Quebec Legislative Assembly in the Québec-Comté electoral district. He was re-elected in 1892, but he resigned in June 1896 to enter federal politics.
He was first elected to the House of Commons of Canada in the Quebec County electoral district in the 1896 federal election as a Liberal Member of Parliament (MP). He served as Solicitor General of Canada from 1896 to 1902, and as Minister of Justice from 1902 until 1906. In 1905, he took part, as the federal government representative, in the negotiations that led to the creation of the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan.
He was appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada in 1906 as Chief Justice. He served in that position until 1918, when he was appointed as Lieutenant Governor of Quebec, the 12th since Confederation. Partway through his term as Lieutenant Governor, his wife's nephew (Louis-Alexandre Taschereau) became the Premier of Quebec.
He is the only Chief Justice other than Sir William Buell Richards to have served in that position without having first been a Puisne Justice on the court (Richards was Chief Justice at the court's creation in 1875), and the only Chief Justice to have been appointed without any prior judicial experience.

## Personal life

On May 20, 1879, Fitzpatrick married Marie-Elmire-Corinne Caron. She was the daughter of René-Édouard Caron, 2nd Lieutenant Governor of Quebec, and his wife Marie-Joséphine De Blois.
He was knighted in 1907. Fitzpatrick died on June 17, 1942, at the age of 90 years and 6 months. He is interred in Sillery, at Saint-Michel Cemetery (cimetière Saint-Michel de Sillery).

## Electoral record

vte1896 Canadian federal election: Quebec County :
| Party | Candidate | Votes |
| | Liberal | Charles Fitzpatrick | 1,982 |
| | Liberal | Jules-Joseph-Taschereau Frémont | 1,058 |
By-election: On Mr. Fitzpatrick being appointed Solicitor General, 11 July 1896
By-election on 30 July 1896 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes |
| | Liberal | Charles Fitzpatrick | acclaimed |
vte1900 Canadian federal election: Quebec County :
| Party | Candidate | Votes |
| | Liberal | Charles Fitzpatrick | 2,201 |
| | Conservative | L. A. Beaubien | 911 |
vte1904 Canadian federal election: Quebec County :
| Party | Candidate | Votes |
| | Liberal | Charles Fitzpatrick | 2,445 |
| | Conservative | J. P. H. Pageot | 271 |

## Archives

There is a Charles Fitzpatrick fonds at Library and Archives Canada.