Louis-Michel Viger, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death
TweetLouis-Michel Viger
Canadian politician
Date of Birth: 
Place of Birth: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
About Louis-Michel Viger
- Louis-Michel Viger (September 28, 1785 – May 27, 1855) was a Quebec lawyer, businessman, seigneur and political figure. He was born in Montreal in 1785 and studied at the Collège Saint-Raphaël at the same time as his cousin, Louis-Joseph Papineau.
- He articled in law with his cousin, Denis-Benjamin Viger, was admitted to the bar in 1807 and set up practice in Montreal.
- Viger was a member of the local militia and served as a lieutenant during the War of 1812.
- In 1824, he married Marie-Ermine, daughter of Louis Turgeon, seigneur of Beaumont.
- In 1830, he was elected to represent Chambly in the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada as a member of the parti patriote and voted for the Ninety-Two Resolutions.
- He was elected again in 1834.
- In 1835, in partnership with Jacob De Witt, he set up La Banque du Peuple to counter the Bank of Montreal's monopoly in the province.
- Because he had played an important role in protest meetings organized before the Lower Canada Rebellion, Viger was arrested in November 1837 and charged with treason.
- He was released in August 1838 and then jailed again for a short time later that same year.
- Viger protested against the union of Upper and Lower Canada and the irregularities in the elections that followed.
- He was elected to the Legislative Assembly for Nicolet in an 1842 by-election.
- His wife had died in 1839 and, in 1843, he married Aurélie, the daughter of Joseph-Édouard Faribault, who was then seigneur of L'Assomption after the death of her first husband.
- Viger was elected in Terrebonne in 1848; he served as receiver general in the Executive Council from 1848 to 1849, resigning when the capital moved from Montreal to Toronto.
- He was elected to the assembly again for Leinster in 1851. He died of a stroke in L'Assomption in 1855 and was buried at Repentigny.
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