Neilson, John National Historic Person
Québec, Quebec
Portrait
(© Expired; Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec / 60,S2,D1,P952)
Address :
Québec, Quebec
Recognition Statute:
Historic Sites and Monuments Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. H-4)
Designation Date:
1976-11-06
Life Date:
1776 to 1848
Other Name(s):
-
Neilson, John
(Designation Name)
Importance:
Journalist, reformer, Member of the Assembly of Lower Canada (1818-33, 1841-44)
Plaque(s)
This journalist, politician, and francophile dominated the printing industry in Québec City when it was a major centre of publishing in Canada. In 1793, Neilson inherited the city’s oldest printing office and its bilingual newspaper, the Quebec Gazette/La Gazette de Québec, overseeing its successful expansion into book sales. He entered politics in 1818 as a member of the Parti canadien. He consistently opposed the union of Upper and Lower Canada before breaking with the more radical leader of the Patriotes, Louis-Joseph Papineau. Founder of Valcartier, he later served in the Legislative Assembly and Council of the Province of Canada.