Manitoba Heritage Summit 2022

MHS Smarty Party: 20 October 2022

Memorable Manitobans: Joseph Ernest Cyr (1854-1929)

Joseph Ernest Cyr Click to enlarge

Journalist, MLA (1883-1886), MP (1904-1908).

Born at Montreal, Quebec on 4 September 1854, son of Michel Cyr and Mary-Louise Moquin, he was educated at St. Laurent College, near Montreal. He was elected to Manitoba Legislature at a June 1883 by-election, was not a candidate in 1886, and was defeated in 1888. He was an unsuccessful candidate for Provencher in 1887 but was elected in 1904. He also served as Mayor of St. Boniface in 1885. He was appointed Superintendent of Dominion Public Works at Winnipeg in 1910.

On 5 January 1875, he married Adelaide Cesarine Senez of Montreal (1856-1941) and they had a daughter, Evangeline Cyr (1878-1913, wife of Joseph Gerard Mager). He served as President of the St. Jean Baptiste Society and first President of the Manitoba French Liberal Association. He had wide experience as a journalist, and his lectures on western Canada and the working classes in Canada secured him a reputation in Canadian literature.

He died at his St. Boniface home, 293 Rue Dumoulin, on 12 April 1929 and was buried in the St. Boniface Cathedral Cemetery.

Sources:

1891 Canada census, Ancestry.

Marriage and death registrations [Evangeline Cyr], Manitoba Vital Statistics.

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.

“J. Ernest Cyr, St. Boniface official, dies,” Winnipeg Tribune, 12 April 1929, page 3.

“J. Ernest Cyr will be laid to rest Monday,” Winnipeg Tribune, 13 April 1929, page 2.

Death registration [Cesarine Cyr], Manitoba Vital Statistics.

The Canadian Directory of Parliament, 1867-1967, edited by J. K. Johnson, Public Archives of Canada, Ottawa [Library and Archives Canada], 1968.

We thank Oliver Bernuetz for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 14 January 2021

Memorable Manitobans This is a collection of noteworthy Manitobans from the past, compiled by the Manitoba Historical Society. We acknowledge that the collection contains both reputable and disreputable people. All are worth remembering as a lesson to future generations. Search the collection by word or phrase, name, place, occupation or other text: Custom Search Browse surnames beginning with: A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y | Z Browse deaths occurring in: 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 Send corrections and additions to this page to the Memorable Manitobans Administrator at biographies@mhs.mb.ca Criteria for Memorable Manitobans | Suggest a Memorable Manitoban | Firsts | Acknowledgements Help us keep history alive!