Joseph-Octave Plessis - Legacy

Legacy

Bishop Plessis was the first to introduce Christianity into the vast territory of Red River, and founded religious and educational institutions in Upper Canada and the provinces along the Gulf of St. Lawrence. In 1815 he had paid an extended visit to all the maritime colonies. His great work was the organization of his church in Canada. In 1818 he was nominated Archbishop of Quebec, and the rest of British America was formed into four suffragan sees. In the legislative council he was an ardent defender of the religious and civil rights of his co-religionists, and in 1822.

When the English government tried to force a union between Upper and Lower Canada, his energetic resistance counted for much in the failure of the plan. The reformation and development of Canadian education formed the great end of his life. He successfully resisted efforts to weaken the force of French-Canadian nationality through the medium of a system of popular education. The colleges of Nicolet and St. Hyacinth were founded through his encouragement, and schools and academies were established in every direction. He spent his time and income in searching out young men and educating them at his own expense. Some of the most eminent men of Canada owed their training to him. The passage of the education law of 1824 was to a great extent his work, and his correspondence with Lord Bathurst on this subject proved him a man of great diplomatic force.

This article incorporates text from the public domain Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography.