Austin Cuvillier

Austin Cuvillier
Fair-skinned man wearing wire-rimmed spectacles, dressed in black robes, white shirt, and small white tie
Austin Cuivillier, wearing the Speaker's robes
1st Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada
In office
1841–1844
Preceded byNew position
Succeeded byAllan Napier MacNab
Member of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada for Huntingdon
In office
1841–1844
Preceded byNew position
Succeeded byBenjamin-Henri Le Moine
Member of the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada for Laprairie (two-member constituency)
In office
1831–1834
Serving with Jean-Moïse Raymond
Preceded byNew district – redistribution
Succeeded byJoseph-Narcisse Cardinal and Jean-Moïse Raymond
Member of the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada for Huntingdon county (two-member constituency)
In office
1814 – 1830 (six elections)
Serving with
Preceded byJean-Antoine Panet / Edme Henry
Succeeded byDistrict abolished – redistribution
Personal details
Born
Augustin Cuvillier

(1779-08-20)August 20, 1779
Quebec City, Province of Quebec
DiedJuly 11, 1849(1849-07-11) (aged 69)
Montreal, Canada East
Resting placeOld Notre-Dame, Montreal
Political partyParti canadien
SpouseMarie-Claire Perrault
RelationsJoseph Perrault (brother-in-law); Alexandre-Maurice Delisle (son-in-law); Charles-Ovide Perrault (nephew)
Children7
Alma materCollège Saint-Raphaël
OccupationBusinessman, wholesale auctioneer, banker
Military service
Allegiance Britain
Branch/serviceLower Canada militia
RankMajor
UnitWar of 1812: 5th Select Embodied Militia Battalion of Lower Canada ("The Devil's Own"); Chasseurs Canadiens
Lower Canada Rebellion: 5th Montreal Militia Battalion
Battles/warsWar of 1812: Battle of the Châteauguay
AwardsWar of 1812 Medal with Châteauguay clasp

Austin Cuvillier (August 20, 1779 – July 11, 1849) was a businessman and political figure in Lower Canada and Canada East. He was a successful Canadien businessmen, unusual when most businessmen in Lower Canada were British. He also was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada for twenty years, as a member for the Parti canadien, which tended to oppose the policies of the British-appointed governors. As a result, he served as a bridge between the conservative business community, and the more radical Parti canadien, although he finally broke with the Parti canadien (by then called the Parti patriote) prior to the Lower Canada Rebellion of 1837–1838.

After the Rebellion, when the British government united Lower Canada with Upper Canada as the province of Canada, he again played a bridging role as the first Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada, His fluent bilingualism enabled him to deal with both the English and the French speaking members of the Assembly in their own language, a tradition which carries on with the Speakers of the federal House of Commons. His portrait hangs in the Centre Block of the federal Parliament buildings, along with other former speakers.