Elected Premier in 1920, at a time when the
North American economy began experiencing difficulties that ultimately led to the
Great Depression, he opposed U.S. President
Franklin D. Roosevelt's
New Deal social democratic policies, saying he could not tell if it was
fascism or
communism. Instead, he vigorously encouraged the development by
private enterprise of the massive forests and the mineral resources of what had been the
Ungava Region and
Nunavik that the
Parliament of Canada had added to the Province of Quebec. A pioneer in advocating the exploitation of the huge hydraulic potential the waterways of the new Quebec, Taschereau understood the limited capital available in a sparsely populated Canada, and actively tried to bring in
American investment to develop Quebec's industrial potential and try to stop mass emigration south of the border. His policies challenged the traditional
agrarian society that the dominance and influence of the
Roman Catholic Church had been able to maintain in Quebec longer than elsewhere in North America. The Liberals of Taschereau were primarily opposed by ultramontane nationalists such as
Henri Bourassa, editor of
Le Devoir, and Roman Catholic priest
Lionel Groulx, editor of ''
L'action canadienne-française''. and Justice Minister
Ernest Lapointe at the White House in 1927|Louis-Alexandre Taschereau with Canadian Ambassador to the United States
Vincent Massey and Justice Minister
Ernest Lapointe at the White House in 1927. Taschereau introduced a measure in 1930 to create a
Jewish board that would have provided for Jewish participation on the highest decision-making educational body in Quebec, the Quebec Council of Public Instruction. Some newspapers saw the move by Taschereau to revamp the
confessional school system as an example of an undermining of
Christianity. As a result of the opposition, the Jewish leadership did not push the issue when Taschereau was forced to repeal the Act and submit a compromise which he had the leaders of the Roman Catholic Church examine and approve beforehand. In the resulting bill, Jews were sent back into the
Protestant system, and the Jewish board had no power beyond the right to negotiate a deal with the Protestant School board. Another policy of Taschereau involved the alcohol trade. The
Alcohol Beverages Act established the Quebec Liquor Commission (predecessor to the modern
Société des alcools du Québec), which provided the government of Quebec with a
monopoly on the sale of
liquor and
wine during the era of
Prohibition in the United States. Taschereau created the Beaux-Arts schools in
Quebec City and
Montreal and subsidized scientific and literary works. He was awarded France's
Legion of Honour, the
Order of Leopold (Belgium), and made a Commander of the
Order of the Crown of Belgium. In the later years of his premiership, discontent inside the Liberal Party became evident. The more "radical" left wing of the party left the Liberals and formed a new party, the
Action libérale nationale.
Paul Gouin, the son of
Lomer Gouin and grandson of
Honoré Mercier, joined this new party. Later, the Action Libérale Nationale merged with the
Conservative Party of Quebec to form the
Union Nationale party under the leadership of
Maurice Duplessis, who had become famous by exposing the Taschereau cabinet's misdeeds before the Accounts Committee of the Legislative Assembly. After his brother Antoine admitted to the Accounts Committee that he had deposited the interest on funds belonging to the Legislative Assembly into his personal bank account, Premier Taschereau resigned in favour of fellow Liberal
Adélard Godbout, who was sworn in as premier in June 1936. Two months later Godbout lost the election to the
Union Nationale, and 40 years of Liberal rule came to an end. The premier served on the boards of a number of major companies, including:
Barclays Bank (Canada) Ltd.,
Caisse d'économie,
Molson Bank,
Canadian Investments Funds,
Bank of Montreal,
Royal Trust Company,
Sun Life Assurance,
North American Life Assurance Company,
Metropolitan Life Assurance Co.,
Liverpool & London & Globe Insurance Co.,
Pioneer Insurance Co.,
Globe Indemnity Co. and the
Manitoba Liverpool Insurance Co. Taschereau won the
1923 election,
1927 election,
1931 election and
1935 election and resigned in 1936. == Death ==