Pierre Beaubien
Pierre Beaubien | |
|---|---|
| Born | Template:Birth date Baie-du-Febvre, Lower Canada |
| Died | January 9, 1881 (aged 84) Outremont, Quebec, Canada |
| Occupation(s) | Physician, politician, property developer |
| Years active | 1827–1880 (medicine); 1842–1849 (politics) |
| Known for | Medical practice and teaching in Montreal; political leadership in Canada East; development of Outremont |
Pierre Beaubien (August 13, 1796 – January 9, 1881) was a medical doctor and political leader in Canada East, part of the Province of Canada (present-day Quebec). Having received his medical education in France, he practiced and taught medicine in Montreal. He was also active in property development, playing a key role in establishing the area now known as Outremont. Beaubien held two non-consecutive terms in the Legislative Assembly, the lower chamber of the Parliament of the Province of Canada, where he aligned with the French-Canadian Group under the leadership of Louis-Hippolyte LaFontaine.
Family and early life
Born in 1796 at Baie-du-Febvre, Lower Canada (currently Quebec) to Jean-Louis Beaubien and Marie-Jeanne Manseau, who were farmers, Pierre Beaubien attended the Séminaire de Nicolet and later the Petit Séminaire de Montréal. Motivated by his instructor Abbé Jacques-Guillaume Roque and supported financially by his family, he pursued advanced studies in France. He completed his classical education at the Académie de Paris in 1819 and earned his medical degree by 1822. After practicing medicine for five years in France and traveling throughout Europe, he returned to Montreal.
Medical practice
Upon returning to Lower Canada in 1827, Beaubien secured his medical license the following year. Thanks to Abbé Roque’s influence, he was appointed physician to the Sulpicians and to the Sisters of the Congregation of Notre Dame, along with positions at both Montreal General Hospital and Hôtel-Dieu de Montréal.
His tenure at Hôtel-Dieu spanned fifty-one years (1829–1880), during which he pioneered clinical medical lectures there and was among Canada's earliest adopters of the stethoscope. Between 1832 and 1836, he served as Montreal’s public health officer. In 1849, Beaubien became affiliated with the Montreal School of Medicine and Surgery, eventually assuming its presidency during the 1860s. That same year marked his appointment as medical superintendent of Montreal’s jail, a post he retained for life.
Commercial activities
In addition to his medical career, Beaubien ventured into real estate and banking sectors. He amassed extensive landholdings across Côte-Sainte-Catherine, Côte-Saint-Louis, and Côte-des-Neiges. The neighborhood now known as Outremont was developed on his estates, while Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery occupies land formerly owned by him. He gifted four parcels in Côte-Saint-Louis to Bishop Ignace Bourget, facilitating the creation of the Montreal Institute for the Deaf and Mute in 1879. Prior to his passing, twenty-two remaining lots were transferred to his son Louis. Together with Louis-Hippolyte LaFontaine and Joseph Bourret, Beaubien co-owned the sub-fief La Gauchetière, purchased from the Sulpicians in 1844.
Beaubien was also instrumental in founding two banking institutions. The first, La Banque du Peuple, established in 1835 by partners including Jacob De Witt and Louis-Michel Viger, sought to extend credit primarily to small-scale entrepreneurs and farmers—especially French-Canadians—thus providing competition to the dominant Bank of Montreal. The second bank he helped create was the Montreal City and District Savings Bank, founded with Bishop Bourget’s involvement to serve lower-income clients; this institution continues today under the name Laurentian Bank of Canada.
Political involvement
Beaubien held office on Montreal's city council for two separate terms, representing the Saint Lawrence ward from 1842 to 1844 and the Saint Louis ward between 1846 and 1847. Additionally, he served two partial terms in the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada. His initial election occurred in November 1843, filling a Montreal seat vacated by George Moffatt. Upon entering the Assembly, Beaubien allied with the French-Canadian faction led by Louis-Hippolyte LaFontaine. He took part in a significant vote that censured Governor General Charles Metcalfe for ignoring the tenets of responsible government. This motion was passed decisively on December 2, 1843; however, Parliament was soon prorogued by Metcalfe.
In the 1844 elections, Beaubien campaigned for re-election and addressed a prominent reform gathering but was defeated along with fellow Montreal representative Lewis Thomas Drummond by Moffatt and Clément-Charles Sabrevois de Bleury. Returning to the Assembly in 1848 as the elected representative for Chambly, he once again aligned himself with the French-Canadian group. Beaubien backed the contentious Rebellion Losses Bill, which provided compensation to Lower Canadians for damages sustained during the Rebellion. This legislation provoked strong Tory resistance and led to violent riots that resulted in the destruction of Montreal’s Parliament building. Following the legislative session of 1849, Beaubien resigned his seat to accept the role of medical superintendent at Montreal prison, thereby concluding his political career.
As a longstanding member of the Association Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Montréal, Beaubien was chosen as its president in 1859.
Marriage and later years
In 1829, Beaubien wed Marie-Justine Casgrain, daughter of Pierre Casgrain and widow of a naval surgeon. Their marriage ceremony was held at the chapel of the General Hospital of Quebec. Marie-Justine’s brother, Charles-Eusèbe Casgrain, was a lawyer who had previously served in the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada before the Lower Canada Rebellion.
The couple had eleven children, six of whom passed away during infancy. Their son, Louis Beaubien, went on to establish a political career within both the Legislative Assembly of Quebec and the House of Commons of Canada. Two sons entered religious life as priests, while their surviving daughter took vows as a nun.
Beaubien remained active in medical practice and education until shortly before his death in 1881 in Outremont.
In recognition of his contributions, Beaubien Street and Beaubien Metro Station bear his name.