The former home of MP Gilbert Girouard is a two-story picturesque residence built in 1875 at the top of a hill with a superb view of Bouctouche Bay on Bellevue Street in Bouctouche.
The heritage value of the former home as an important local historic place stems from its association with the politician who lived there. Elected as a Member of Parliament in 1878, Gilbert Girouard (1846-1885) was the first Acadian MP from New Brunswick in the House of Commons in Ottawa. He was mostly known for his commitment to public affairs as MP for Kent County from 1878 to 1883, and for his important role in the arrangement of structures to boost Acadia’s development.
During the Acadian nationalist movement, Gilbert Girouard served as President of the Commission Acadienne du Congrès de Québec in 1880 and as Secretary of the first convention Nationale des Acadiens in Memramcook in 1881.
Owner of a lumber mill, Girouard provided Father François Xavier Michaud with the wood needed for the construction of the Immaculate Conception convent, free of charge.
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