born Oct. 7, 1786, Montreal, Que.
died Sept. 23, 1871, Montebello, Que., Can.
Canadian politician.
He was elected to the legislative assembly of Lower Canada (now Quebec) in 1808 and became its speaker in 1815. A leader of the French-Canadian Party, he opposed the British-dominated government of Lower Canada. In 1834 he helped draft the 92 Resolutions, a statement of French-Canadian demands and grievances. When the British governor rejected the resolutions, hostilities broke out. Papineau escaped to the U.S. and then to France, where he lived from 1839 to 1844. He returned to Canada under an amnesty in 1844 and served in the Canadian House of Commons from 1848 to 1854, though he never regained his leadership of the French-Canadians.