Thibaudeau Rinfret Explained

Honorific-Prefix:The Right Honourable
Thibaudeau Rinfret
Order:9th
Office:Chief Justice of Canada
Predecessor:Lyman Poore Duff
Successor:Patrick Kerwin
Term Start:January 8, 1944
Term End:June 22, 1954
Nominator:William Lyon Mackenzie King
Office2:Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada
Predecessor2:Arthur Malouin
Successor2:Roy Kellock
Term Start2:October 1, 1924
Term End2:January 8, 1944
Nominator2:William Lyon Mackenzie King
Birth Date:22 June 1879
Birth Place:Montreal, Quebec
Nationality:Canadian
Relations:Fernand Rinfret, brother
Charles Rinfret, brother
Alma Mater:Université Laval à Montréal, Faculté de droit and McGill University
Occupation:Lawyer, jurist

Thibaudeau Rinfret (June 22, 1879  - July 25, 1962) was a Canadian jurist and the ninth Chief Justice of Canada and Administrator of Canada in 1952.

Early life

Rinfret was born in Montreal in 1879, the son of François-Olivier Rinfret and Albina Pominville.[1] He was the brother of Fernand Rinfret, Liberal politician who became Mayor of Montreal, and brother of Charles Rinfret, a prominent Montreal businessman.[2]

Professional career

Rinfret studied law at the Université Laval à Montréal, Faculté de droit and McGill University and was called to the Bar of Quebec in 1901. He was appointed to the Quebec Superior Court in 1922 and to the Supreme Court of Canada in 1924.

Rinfret became Chief Justice on January 8, 1944, and served until his retirement on June 22, 1954. During his term as Chief Justice, Canada ended appeals to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council making the Supreme Court of Canada the final court of appeal in Canadian jurisprudence.[3]

Rinfret was Administrator of the Government in 1952 after the departure of Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis, and until Vincent Massey could officially be sworn in as Governor General of Canada. During this time he proclaimed Elizabeth II as Queen of Canada, following the death of King George VI.

Personal life

His son was the Quebec politician and judge Édouard Rinfret.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Canada , Supreme Court of . The Supreme Court of Canada and its Justices 1875-2000: La Cour suprême du Canada et ses juges 1875-2000. Canada. Public Works and Government Services. November 1, 2000. Dundurn. 9781770700956. fr.
  2. http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/rinfret_fernand_16E.html "Rinfret, Fernand", by Benoit Langval, Dictionary of Canadian Biography, Vol. XVI (1931–1940).
  3. Supreme Court Amendment Act, S.C. 1949 (2nd. session), c. 37, s. 3.