Robert Taschereau (September 10, 1896 – July 26, 1970) was a lawyer who served as the 11th Chief Justice of Canada from 1963 to 1967, as a puisne justice of the Supreme Court of Canada from 1940 to 1963, and briefly as the Administrator of the Government of Canada for one month from March to April 1967 following the death of Governor General of Canada Georges Vanier.
Biography He was born in Quebec City in 1896 to Louis-Alexandre Taschereau and Adine Dionne. He came from a family of politicians and lawyers; his father later became Premier of Quebec and his grandfather, Jean-Thomas Taschereau, was on the Supreme Court of Canada. He studied at Laval University and obtained a B.A. degree in 1916 and LL.L. in 1920.
Following a career as a lawyer, Taschereau entered politics as a Liberal and won a seat in the Quebec Legislative Assembly in 1930. He held his seat of the riding of Bellechasse until retiring in 1936.
Supreme Court judge On February 9, 1940, he was appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada, filling the vacancy created by the death of his former law partner, Lawrence Cannon."Supreme Court of Canada | List of current and former judges" www.scc-csc.ca. Retrieved 2025-06-30. Cannon's death occurred shortly before Taschereau's appointment with no interim appointments or departures.
In 1946, he and fellow Justice Roy Kellock conducted the Royal Commission on Spying Activities in Canada that had been prompted by the Gouzenko Affair.The report of the Royal Commission Appointed under Order in Council P.C. 411 of February 5, 1946 to Investigate the Facts Relating to and the Circumstances Surrounding the Communication, by Public Officials... See file CP32-103-1946-1-eng.pdf (PDF, 7.30 MB), page 7.
Taschereau was promoted to Chief Justice in 1963.
Under the Letters Patent, 1947, the Chief Justice of Canada serves as the Administrator of the Government of Canada in the death, absence or incapacity of the Governor General of Canada.Letters Patent Constituting the Office of Governor General of Canada, October 1, 1947. Taschereau served as Administrator from the death of Governor General Georges Vanier on March 5, 1967, until April 17, 1967, when the Queen appointed Roland Michener as the new governor general, on the advice of Prime Minister Lester Pearson.Governor General of Canada: Former Governors General.
Personal
Taschereau was married to Ellen Donohue, daughter of Joseph Timothy Donohue (co-founder of Donohue Inc.) and Émilie Normandin.
Retirement and honours Taschereau remained on the Supreme Court until retiring in 1967.
In 1967, he was made a Companion of the Order of Canada.
Robert Taschereau died in 1970 at the age of 73, and was interred in the family plot at the Cimetière Notre-Dame-de-Belmont in Sainte-Foy, Quebec.
References
External links Order of Canada Citation Supreme Court of Canada biography