Athanase David

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title: "Athanase David" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1882-births", "1953-deaths", "businesspeople-from-montreal", "canadian-senators-from-quebec", "knights-of-the-legion-of-honour", "lawyers-from-montreal", "liberal-party-of-canada-senators", "montreal-canadiens-executives", "national-hockey-league-executives", "politicians-from-montreal", "quebec-liberal-party-mnas", "stanley-cup-champions", "université-de-montréal-alumni", "david-family", "20th-century-members-of-the-national-assembly-of-quebec", "20th-century-members-of-the-senate-of-canada"] description: "Canadian politician (1882–1953)" topic_path: "law" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athanase_David" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Canadian politician (1882–1953) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox officeholder"]

Field	Value
name	Athanase David
image	Athanase David.jpg
office	Senator for Saurel, Quebec
appointed	William Lyon Mackenzie King
predecessor	Joseph-Marcellin Wilson
successor	Mariana Beauchamp Jodoin
term_start	1940
term_end	1953
office2	Secretary of the Province of Quebec
primeminister2	Lomer Gouin
Louis-Alexandre Taschereau
predecessor2	Jérémie-Louis Décarie
successor2	Charles-Auguste Bertrand
term_start2	1919
term_end2	1936
office3	Member of the Legislative Assembly of Quebec for Terrebonne
predecessor3	Jean Prévost
successor3	Hermann Barrette
term_start3	1916
term_end3	1936
predecessor4	Hermann Barrette
successor4	Hector Perrier
term_start4	1939
term_end4	1940
birth_date
birth_place	Montreal, Quebec
birth_name	Louis-Athanase David
death_date
spouse	Antonia Nantel
party	Liberal
children	Paul David
profession	lawyer
::

| honorific-prefix = | name = Athanase David | honorific-suffix = | image = Athanase David.jpg | office = Senator for Saurel, Quebec | appointed = William Lyon Mackenzie King | predecessor = Joseph-Marcellin Wilson | successor = Mariana Beauchamp Jodoin | term_start = 1940 | term_end = 1953

| office2 = Secretary of the Province of Quebec | primeminister2 = Lomer Gouin Louis-Alexandre Taschereau | predecessor2 = Jérémie-Louis Décarie | successor2 = Charles-Auguste Bertrand | term_start2 = 1919 | term_end2 = 1936

| office3 = Member of the Legislative Assembly of Quebec for Terrebonne | predecessor3 = Jean Prévost | successor3 = Hermann Barrette | term_start3 = 1916 | term_end3 = 1936

| predecessor4 = Hermann Barrette | successor4 = Hector Perrier | term_start4 = 1939 | term_end4 = 1940

| birth_date = | birth_place = Montreal, Quebec | birth_name = Louis-Athanase David | death_date = | death_place = | nationality = | spouse = Antonia Nantel | party = Liberal | relations = | children = Paul David | residence = | alma_mater = | occupation = | profession = lawyer | religion = Louis-Athanase David (June 24, 1882 – January 26, 1953) was a Canadian lawyer, politician, and businessman. He was a cabinet minister in the Provincial Parliament of Quebec, representing the riding of Terrebonne and serving as Provincial Secretary. In this position, he created Quebec's first cultural policy. He was later a member of the Canadian Senate.

Early life

David was born in Montreal; He was the son of Laurent-Olivier David, a Canadian journalist, lawyer, and politician. He received a law degree from Université Laval in Montreal and was admitted to the Bar of Quebec in 1905.

Career

David began practising law in 1905, and was a partner in the law firm of Elliott & David. He joined the Liberal party, and was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Quebec in 1916 as the Liberal Party member for the Terrebonne riding, serving until 1936. As Quebec's Provincial Secretary, David developed the city's cultural institutions, such as a national museum, literary prize, scholarships, and educational programs.

David directed the Department of Education, and in 1930 he sponsored a controversial bill which would have created a separate Jewish school board in Quebec.

David did not run in the 1936 election, but was elected again in 1939.

David created the Prix Athanase-David literary prize in 1922. In 1923 was made a Knight of the Legion of Honour by the government of France; he was made an Officer in 1925 and a Commander in 1934.

A sports fan, David was president of the Montreal Canadiens ice hockey club from 1930 to 1935. The club won three Stanley Cups during his tenure in 1924, 1930, and 1931. In 1928 he partnered with Montreal stockbroker Ernest Savard and American baseball executive George Stallings to revive the Montreal Royals baseball franchise as part of the International League and to build Delorimier Stadium.

David resigned from the provincial government in February 1940 to accept an appointment as Senator in the Parliament of Canada where he served until his death in 1953.

1935 ballot controversy

In the 1935 election, David's victory was contested on the ground that the ballot papers were not printed in the form prescribed under the Election Act. At the subsequent hearing, the judge ruled that all cast ballots were declared void. Immediately afterwards, the returning officer announced that, as this resulted in a 0-0 tie, he cast his deciding vote in favour of David.

::data[format=table title="Votes cast in Terrebonne (1935)"] | Candidate | Initial count | As determined by Returning Officer | |---|---|---| | Athanase David | 4,893 | 1 | | Majority | 720 | 1 | ::

The returning officer's action was considered to have been without precedent anywhere in the world in countries with parliamentary-style legislatures. The Conservatives lodged an appeal, but the result was upheld by the Quebec Court of Appeal in April 1936. David would become the only member of the Assembly in Quebec history to be elected on only one cast vote.

Personal

David was married to Antonia Nantel (known as Madame Athanase David), who was an arts administrator and patron in Montreal. He helped her in establishing the Montreal Symphony Orchestra in 1934 and the Montreal Festivals in 1936. Their son, Paul David, was a cardiologist and later Canadian senator. His granddaughter is Françoise David.

References

References

1. {{Quebec MNA biography. david-athanase-2771
2. 978-1-4597-1362-8. p. 60–.
3. Grandbois, Michèle. (2025). "Quebec City Art & Artists: An Illustrated History". Art Canada Institute.
4. 978-0-9739586-0-7. p. 193–.
5. 978-1-4597-3727-3. p. 181–.
6. 978-2-7637-7648-4. p. 193–.
7. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=_-cSAAAAIAAJ The Dalhousie Review]''. Vol. 4. Dalhousie University Press; 1924. p. 150.
8. 978-1-77112-167-5. p. 62–.
9. 978-2-7637-7914-0. p. 135–.
10. 978-0-7748-3466-7. p. 84–.
11. . (December 16, 1935). ["M. le juge Guibeault déclare nulle l'élection de Terrebonne. L'officier-rapporteur élit M. David"](https://numerique.banq.qc.ca/patrimoine/details/52327/2794652). *[[Le Devoir]]*.
12. . (December 17, 1935). ["Terrebonne votes all found illegal"](https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=7b4tAAAAIBAJ&sjid=C5kFAAAAIBAJ&pg=6617%2C1641440). *[[Montreal Gazette]]*.
13. . (December 6, 1935). ["Le juge Guibault continue le recomptage du scrutin dans le comté de Terrebonne"](https://numerique.banq.qc.ca/patrimoine/details/52327/2794636). *[[Le Devoir]]*.
14. . ["Election results (Terrebonne)"](https://www.assnat.qc.ca/fr/patrimoine/resultatselec/t.html#terr). *[[National Assembly of Quebec]]*.
15. . (December 17, 1935). ["Unionists act quickly to bar David election"](https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=7b4tAAAAIBAJ&sjid=C5kFAAAAIBAJ&pg=6130%2C1610484). *[[Montreal Gazette]]*.
16. . (April 14, 1936). ["David wins round in election fight"](https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=m34tAAAAIBAJ&sjid=B5kFAAAAIBAJ&pg=6798%2C1478486). *[[Montreal Gazette]]*.
17. [http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/madame-athanase-david-emc/ Madame Athanase David] at ''[[The Canadian Encyclopedia]]''
18. 978-0-7735-7624-7. p. 95–.

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