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Albert Prefontaine
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Farmer, merchant, MLA (1903-1907), MLA (1907-1910), MLA (1910-1914), MLA (1916-1920), MLA (1923-1927), MLA (1927-1932), MLA (1932-1935).
Born at Upton, Quebec on 11 October 1861, son of Fimin Fournier-Prefontaine and Mathilde Desautel, he was educated at Greenfield, Massachusetts. He came to Manitoba in 1880 and served as Reeve of the Rural Municipality of DeSalaberry from 1894 to 1899. He was President of the Carillon Agricultural Society, President of the Carey Elevator Company, and President of the St. Pierre Trading Company, which operated a general store at that place starting in 1907.
He was elected to the Manitoba Legislature as a Conservative in 1903, 1907, and 1910, defeated in 1914 by Thomas Molloy, elected in 1915, and defeated in 1920 by Maurice Duprey. He was Leader of the Conservative Opposition in the Legislature from 1915 to 1920. In the 1921 federal general election, he was a candidate in the Provencher riding but came in third place. In 1922, he was re-elected for Carillon as a member of the Bracken government and served as Provincial Secretary (1923-1927, 1927-1928), Lands Commissioner (1923-1927, 1927-1928), Railway Commissioner (1923-1932), and Minister of Agriculture and Immigration (1925-1931). He was re-elected in 1923, 1927, and 1932.
On 13 February 1888, he married Albina L’Heureux (1868-1908), with whom he had eight children, including Henri Aurelle Prefontaine (1890-?), Joseph Georges Prefontaine (1891-?), Rose Albina Prefontaine (1893-?), Marie Prefontaine (1894-?), Arthur Aurelle Prefontaine (1896-?), Edmond Prefontaine, and Edith Prefontaine (1899-?).
He died at the Misericordia Hospital on 21 February 1935 and was buried in the St-Pierre-Jolys Cemetery.
See also:
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Prefontaine House (409 Rue Joubert, St-Pierre-Jolys)
1901 Canada census, Automated Genealogy.
Who’s Who in Western Canada: A Biographical Dictionary of Notable Living Men and Women of Western Canada, Volume 1, edited by C. W. Parker, Vancouver: Canadian Press Association, 1911.
Pioneers and Prominent People of Manitoba, Winnipeg: Canadian Publicity Company, 1925.
Death registrations, Manitoba Vital Statistics.
“Hon. Albert Prefontaine, provincial minister, dies,” Winnipeg Tribune, 21 February 1935, page 1.
Members of the Legislative Assembly (deceased), Legislative Assembly of Manitoba.
Obituaries and burial transcriptions, Manitoba Genealogical Society.
We thank Bob Préfontaine for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 15 December 2024
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