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Sir Etienne Paschal Tache was the oldest of the Fathers of Confederation. A doctor by profession, he was also an author, a soldier and of course a politician. He was born at St. Thomas, Que., on Sept. 5, 1795. As a young man he fought the British during the war of 1812. After that he practiced medicine until he entered parliament in 1841, as a representative for L'Islet. He stayed there until 1846 when he became deputy adjutant-general of the Lower Canada militia, with the rank of colonel. In 1848, he was back in politics as commissioner of public works in the Baldwin-Lafontaine administration. In 1849 he changed to the portfolio of receiver-general and held various other offices until 1857. In 1856-57 he was technically prime minister but in reality was overshadowed by John A. Macdonald. |
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From 1857 until 1864 he was a member of the legislative council. He was knighted in 1858. In 1864 he was called from retirement to head up a new administration with Macdonald and after various political upheavals in June of 1864, became premier in the "Great Coalition" that aimed at furthering Confederation.
Tache presided at the Quebec Confederation conference but he did not live to see his dream come true. He died at his birthplace on July 29, 1865.
