Joseph Gariépy

Infobox Politician (general)
name= Joseph Hormidas Gariépy


imagesize=300
title= Alderman on the Edmonton Town Council
term_start= December 14, 1896
term_end= December 13, 1897
birth_date= December 3, 1852
birth_place= L'Assomption County, Quebec
death_date= July 6, 1927 (aged 75)
spouse= Etudienne Boissonault (7 children)
profession= Merchant
religion=Roman Catholic
footnotes=

Joseph Hormidas Gariépy (born December 3, 1852; died July 6, 1927) was a politician in Alberta, Canada and a municipal councillor in Edmonton.

Biography

Gariépy was born in L'Assomption County, Quebec on December 3, 1852. At age sixteen, he moved to Montreal where he lived for twenty-four years, working in the grocery business. He married Etudienne Boissoneault in 1872. The pair would have seven children; two of these, Wilfred and Charles, would enter politics themselves. In 1893 Joseph Gariépy moved to Edmonton bought a block of land for $1200 - the most expensive real estate traded in Edmonton to that date. On it, he opened a general store known successively as Gariépy & Chenier, Gariépy & Borsseau, and Gariépy & Lessard; a second store in Morinville followed in 1908.

Gariépy partnered with Prosper-Edmond Lessard, a former employee who would later become his son-in-law by marrying Emily Gariépy, both through his general store and through subsequent real estate ventures which saw both men become wealthy.

In 1896, Gariépy was elected as an alderman to Edmonton Town Council, finishing second of nine candidates in an election in which the top six candidates were elected. However, he was defeated in his 1897 re-election bid, finishing last of nine candidates. He attempted a comeback in 1900, and finished fourth of eight candidates; unfortunately, aldermanic terms had, in the interim, been staggered, meaning that only half of the six seats were elected each year, and Gariépy fell just short. He did not seek municipal office again during his lifetime, although he did sit as a Catholic school trustee between 1914 and 1924.

Gariépy was a founding member and president of the Edmonton Board of Trade, a member of the Knights of Columbus, and involved with the Liberal Party of Canada. He died July 6, 1927.

References

* [http://www.epl.ca/Elections/results/EPLBiographiesLetter.cfm?id=G Edmonton Public Library biography of Joseph Gariépy]
* [http://www.edmonton.ca/CityGov/ElectionHistory/Members%20of%20Council%20Biographies.doc City of Edmonton biography of Joseph Gariépy]
* [http://www.rewedmonton.ca/content_view2?CONTENT_ID=552 Real Estate Weekly article partially about Lessard that mentions his partnership with Gariépy]