At the prompting of his father-in-law, Chapais entered regional politics. In 1851, he was elected for the first time to the
Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada; he was eventually to serve a total of five terms representing
Kamouraska. A
"bleu", he was a supporter of
Augustin-Norbert Morin,
Étienne-Paschal Taché and
George-Étienne Cartier. He worked to abolish the system of
seigneurial tenure in
Quebec and reform agricultural legislation. Following the
Charlottetown Conference in September 1864, Chapais attended the
Quebec Conference to negotiate on behalf of
Canada East for provincial governments to have greater power in the Canadian federal system. Chapais was Commissioner of Public Works in the
Great Coalition of 1864–1867, and is credited with establishing the
Intercolonial Railway and expanding the
Grand Trunk Railway. In 1867 the
British North America Act was passed, creating the Dominion of Canada, and Chapais became the first
Minister of Agriculture. At this time, he also switched to representing
Champlain in the Quebec legislature, due to a scandal over electoral irregularities in Kamouraska. On 30 January 1868, Jean-Charles Chapais entered the
Senate of Canada, and sat in the body until his death. As Minister, Chapais was in charge of more than simply agriculture: the department was also responsible for the import and export of animals, immigration, the
census, patent administration and trademarks,
public health, manufacturing, and the
arts. After less than three years, he was replaced by
Christopher Dunkin, which he greatly resented. His new position of
Receiver General for Canada was significantly less prestigious and powerful, requiring little more than making and accepting payments on behalf of the government. (Today, the portfolio has passed to the
Minister of Public Works.) Chapais resigned in 1873, saying that he wanted to spend more time with his family and business. He is buried in Saint-Denis-De La Bouteillerie, Quebec. Chapais' house in Saint-Denis-De La Bouteillerie was designated a
National Historic Site of Canada in 1962. ==References==