Peter Veniot

Peter John Veniot
Peter John Veniot
	Canadian Parliament; for Gloucester
	In office; September 14, 1926 – July 6, 1936
Preceded by	Jean George Robichaud
Succeeded by	Clarence Joseph Veniot
Personal details
Born	October 4, 1863; Richibucto, New Brunswick, British North America
Died	July 6, 1936 (aged 72); Bathurst, New Brunswick, Canada
Political party	Liberal
Spouse	Catherine Melanson (m. 1885)
Children	6 sons
Alma mater	Pictou Academy
Occupation	businessman and newspaper owner
Profession	politician

Peter John Veniot,

Acadian premier of New Brunswick.^[1]

Early life and career

He was born in

Pictou, Nova Scotia with his family. Veniot worked as a journalist and typographer for the Pictou Standard and then the Moncton Transcript. He then moved to Bathurst, where he became editor and later owner of Le Courrier des Provinces Maritimes

.

Political career

Veniot was first elected to the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick in 1894, but left politics in 1900 for a customs job. In 1912, he was hired to reorganize the Liberal Party of New Brunswick, and became a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) again in 1917.

He served in the

Minister of Public Works. As Minister, Veniot was responsible for the creation of the New Brunswick Electric Power Commission

and the modernization of the province's highway system.

Veniot became Premier in 1923 following Foster's resignation. He was a supporter of the

Canadian confederation. His government was defeated in the 1925 provincial election

.

Veniot resigned as provincial Liberal leader in 1926 in order to enter federal politics in the

cabinet of William Lyon Mackenzie King

. In cabinet, Veniot advocated implementation of the Duncan Commission recommendations on alleviating Maritime alienation. Recommendations of freight-rate reductions and subsidy increases were implemented, but suggestions for subsidies based on fiscal need and transportation use to encourage regional development were ignored.

Death

Veniot remained a Member of Parliament until his death at his home in Bathurst in 1936.^[2]

Personal life

Married in 1885 to Catherine Melanson,

Gloucester by-election

after his death. He and his wife are interred in Bathurst, in the cemetery adjacent to the offices of the newspaper that made his fortune.

Electoral record

v t e 1935 Canadian federal election: Gloucester
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Peter Veniot	11,816	74.96	+24.12
	Conservative	Albany Robichaud	2,962	18.79	-30.37
	Reconstruction	Hector Poirier	985	6.25
Total valid votes			15,763	100.00

v t e 1930 Canadian federal election: Gloucester
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Peter Veniot	7,716	50.84	-4.95
	Conservative (istorical)	Albany Robichaud	7,460	49.16	+4.95
Total valid votes			15,176	100.00

Party		Candidate	Votes
By-election on 2 November 1926 On Peter Veniot's acceptance of an office of emolument under the Crown, 5 October 1926
	Liberal	Peter Veniot	Acclaimed

References

Peter Veniot – Parliament of Canada biography
Government of New Brunswick biography (pdf)

^ "Pierre Veniot becomes Premier of New Brunswick". Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages. 9 December 2016. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
^ "Hon. P. Veniot dies At Home At Age Of 72". The Ottawa Journal. 7 July 1936. p. 11. Retrieved 24 December 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
^ L’Encyclopédie de l’histoire du Québec / The Quebec History Encyclopedia

v t e Premiers of New Brunswick
British Crown colony (1854–67)	Fisher Gray S. L. Tilley Smith P. Mitchell
Canadian Province (1867–present)	Wetmore King Hathaway King Fraser Hanington Blair J. Mitchell Emmerson Tweedie Pugsley Robinson Hazen J. Flemming Clarke Murray Foster Veniot Baxter Richards L. P. Tilley Dysart McNair H. J. Flemming Robichaud Hatfield McKenna Frenette Thériault Lord Graham Alward Gallant Higgs
Category:Premiers of New Brunswick Portal:Canada