Henri Sévérin Béland, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death
TweetHenri Sévérin Béland
Canadian politician
Date of Birth: 
Place of Birth: Louiseville, Quebec, Canada
About Henri Sévérin Béland
- Henri Sévérin Béland, (October 11, 1869 – April 22, 1935) was a Canadian parliamentarian. Born in Rivière-du-Loup-en-Haut, Quebec (now Louiseville), the son of Henri Béland and Sophie Lesage, he studied medicine at Université Laval.
- He practiced medicine in New Hampshire before moving to Saint-Joseph-de-Beauce, Quebec.
- During World War I, he was a doctor in Belgium and held by the Germans as a prisoner of war for three years. From 1897 to 1899, he was the mayor of Saint-Joseph-de-Beauce.
- In 1897, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Quebec as a Liberal in the riding of Beauce.
- He was acclaimed in 1900.
- He resigned in 1902 to run federally.
- In a 1902 by-election, he was acclaimed as a Liberal Member of Parliament in the riding of Beauce.
- He was re-elected in 1904 and 1908.
- His seat became vacant from August 9, 1911 when he was appointed Postmaster General in the cabinet of Wilfrid Laurier, a position he occupied until October 9, 1911, and that entitled him to use the title "The Honourable" for the rest of his life.
- He was defeated in 1911 in the riding of Montmagny and was re-elected in Beauce.
- He was acclaimed in 1917 and re-elected in 1921.
- In 1921, he was appointed Minister of Soldiers' Civil Re-establishment and Minister presiding over the Department of Health.
- He was re-elected in a by-election in 1922.
- He served in William Lyon Mackenzie King's cabinet until 1926. In 1923, Beland (as federal Minister of Health) announced at a meeting of a committee appointed to review Canada's Opium and Narcotic Drug Act that cannabis would, arbitrarily and without parliamentary debate or process, be added to the federal list of banned substances.
- As recently as 2002, the Senate has been unable to formally justify Beland's decision. In 1925, he was appointed to the Senate representing the senatorial division of Lauzon, Quebec.
- He died in office in 1935. Henri-Béland Avenue in Montreal is named in his honour.
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