Joseph-Adélard Godbout (24 September, 1892 - 18 September, 1956) was a politician in the Canadian province of Quebec. He served as Premier of Quebec briefly in 1936, and again from 1939 to 1944. He was also leader of the Parti libéral du Québec.

Profile

Godbout became Premier of Quebec after the retirement of Louis-Alexandre Taschereau on June 27, 1936. Soon after, he lost the August 1936 election to the Union Nationale party of Maurice Duplessis. Godbout returned to power in the 1939 election.

He is remembered for passing laws that granted women the right to vote, and that enforced compulsory school attendance until the age of 14. His government also nationalized electric companies in Montreal to create Hydro-Québec, the public institution that was later greatly expanded by René Lévesque during the Quiet Revolution.

In the 1944 election, he was once again defeated by Maurice Duplessis. His support for Canadian prime minister William Lyon Mackenzie King on the issue of conscription of soldiers to serve in the Canadian armed forces in World War II was very unpopular in Quebec.

Godbout remained as Leader of the Opposition until the 1948 election, in which he narrowly lost his own seat. In 1949, Godbout was appointed to the Canadian Senate by Canadian Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent. He remained a senator until his death in 1956.

In 2000, a documentary was made by his nephew and renowned filmmaker Jacques Godbout, entitled Traître ou Patriote.

Elections as party leader

He lost the 1936 election, won the 1939 election, lost the 1944 election and lost the 1948 election.

See also

• Politics of Quebec
• List of Quebec general elections
• Timeline of Quebec history

External links

• National Assembly biography (in French)