Lionel Chevrier

Lionel Chevrier

Lionel Chevrier, lawyer, politician, diplomat (b at Cornwall, Ont 2 Apr 1903; d at Montréal 8 Jul 1987). After his studies in Cornwall, Ottawa, and Toronto, Lionel Chevrier practiced as a lawyer in his home town from 1928 to 1935. He was elected Liberal MP in the riding of Stormont for the first time in the House of Commons in 1935, and re-elected in 1940, 1945, 1949 and 1953. Prime Minister MACKENZIE KING appointed him as Chief Government Whip's assistant and Deputy Whip of the Liberal Party (1940-1943), then Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Munitions and Supplies (1943-1945). Chevrier became the Transport Minister in 1945, a position he held until 1954. When he resigned, he was appointed president of the St Lawrence Seaway Authority (1954-1957) by Prime Minister St-Laurent. He was elected as a federal MP in Laurier (1957, 1958, 1962, 1963), and served as president of the Privy Council of Canada from April to June 1957. He simultaneously held the offices of Official Opposition House Leader and Liberal Party House Leader from 1957 to 1963. As Prime Minister PEARSON's Québec Lieutenant, he became Minister of Justice and Attorney General (1963-1964).

Lionel Chevrier undertook numerous Canadian diplomatic initiatives after his departure from politics in 1964, notably as Canadian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom (1964-1967) and Commissioner General for State Visits at EXPO 67. He headed a tour to French-speaking Africa in 1968, in order to expand the cooperation program and confirm the Canadian duality abroad; in 1970, he made a promotional tour to Canadian consular posts in the United States on behalf of the Minister of External Affairs. From 1969 until his death, Chevrier practiced law in Montréal and sat on the boards of directors of several companies in the private sector. Lionel Chevrier was named a Companion to the ORDER OF CANADA in 1967. Canada Post honoured him with a postage stamp in 1997, and the Lionel Chevrier Building in Cornwall bears his name.