Joseph Gariépy

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.