The Honourable Joseph Daigle CM QC |
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Chief Justice of New Brunswick | |
In office 1998–2003 |
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Preceded by | William L. Hoyt |
Succeeded by | J. Ernest Drapeau |
MLA for Kent North | |
In office 1974–1982 |
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Preceded by | Riding established |
Succeeded by | Conrad Landry |
Personal details | |
Born |
Joseph Zenon Daigle June 23, 1934 Saint-Charles, New Brunswick, Canada |
Political party | Liberal |
Spouse(s) | Rhéa April |
Children | 4 children |
Parents | Antoine J. Daigle & Laura Daigle |
Education | St. Joseph's College, University of New Brunswick, University of Paris |
Occupation | Lawyer, judge, politician |
Joseph Zenon Daigle, CM QC (born June 23, 1934) is a Canadian lawyer and a former politician and Chief Justice of New Brunswick.
Of Acadian descent, Daigle was born in Saint-Charles, New Brunswick, and educated in his native New Brunswick, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree from St. Joseph's College and a Bachelor of Civil Law degree from the University of New Brunswick before studying public international law at the University of Paris in Paris, France . He entered private practise in 1960 and served as a provincial court judge from 1967 until 1974 when he entered politics.
In the 1974 New Brunswick general election, Daigle was elected to the Legislative Assembly as the Liberal Party candidate for the newly created riding of Kent North. In 1978 he became leader of the provincial Liberal party and assumed the role of Opposition Leader in the Assembly.
In the 1978 election, Daigle was personally reelected while leading his party to a narrow loss. His Liberals garnered 44.36 per cent of the popular vote, just 0.03 per cent less than the winning Progressive Conservatives, and captured twenty-eight seats to the Conservative's thirty. Dissension arose within his caucus following the party's election loss in which 3.5 per cent of the popular vote went to the Parti Acadien, a party made up mainly of disgruntled former Liberals. He also attracted criticism for a campaign speech in which he referred to Premier Richard Hatfield as a "faded pansy", alluding to the Conservative leader's then-rumored homosexuality.