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Abstract

Robert LozC: A Fictional Model for the Economic Independence of French Canada Ramon Hathorn Robert Lozk, a relatively unknown novel published in Montreal in 1903,provides the point of focus of this brief study. Its author, Errol Bouchette, however, is much better known in Quebec than this, his first foray into fiction. I t seems appropriate therefore to discuss first the career and writings of this economist and librarian, then, to examine the key ideas of two important brochures, Emparons-nous de l’industrie and L ’Evolution economique duns la province de Qukbec. Thirdly, we shall analyze various facets of Bouchette’s novel, particularly from the ideological point of view, examining by way of synthesis the relationship of the writings of the learned economist to that of the budding novelist. Finally, we shall comment briefly on the literary and social fortunes of this civil servant’s radically innovative suggestions. Bouchette’s Life and Works Born in 1863, Errol Bouchette inherited on his father’s side a long line of distinguished ancestors. The first Bouchette to settle in Canada did so during the latter part of the French regime, leaving his native Brittany and the town of Saint Malo in exchange for the forests of New France. Errol’s great grandfather, Jean-Baptiste Bouchette, fought against the British in The Seven Years’ War, then, after the Conquest, fished in the Gulf of the St. Lawrence. In 1775 he helped General Guy Carleton escape from Montreal when it had been captured by the Americans. His loyalty to the new rulers earned him, during the latter part of his life, the command of British naval forces on the