Date Published:
April 2005

L’Encyclopédie de l’histoire du Québec / The Quebec History Encyclopedia

John Peter Veniot

Veniot, Peter John (1863-1936), prime minister of New Brunswick (1923-5) and postmaster-general of Canada (1926-30), was born at Richibuctou, New Brunswick, on October 4, 1863, the son of Stephen Veniot and Mary Morell. He was educated at Pictou Academy. From 1894 to 1900 he represented Gloucester in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick; but he resigned in 1900 to become collector of customs at Bathurst, and later secretary of the school board. In 1917, however, he was re-elected to the Legislative Assembly; and he continued to sit in it until defeated in 1925. In 1917 he became minister of public works in the Foster government; and in 1923 he succeeded W. Foster as prime minister of New Brunswick. Defeated at the polls in 1925, he was elected to represent Gloucester in the House of Commons in 1926; and later in 1926 he was sworn of the Privy Council and appointed postmaster-general in the Mackenzie King government. He resigned office with the rest of the cabinet after the general election of 1930, though he retained his seat in the House until his death at Bathurst, on July 6, 1936. In 1885 he married Catherine Melanson; and by her he had six sons. He was an LL.D. of the University of New Brunswick (1923) and of Laval University (1924).

Source  : W. Stewart Wallace, ed., The Encyclopedia of Canada, Vol. VI, Toronto, University Associates of Canada, 1948, 398p., pp. 232-233.