Joseph Sasseville Roy

Joseph Sasseville Roy (August 21, 1895 – April 10, 1970) was a Quebec businessman and political figure who represented Gaspé in the Canadian House of Commons as an Independent Conservative and then as an Independent member from 1940 to 1945.^[1]

A native of Cap-Chat^[1] and the son of Wilfrid Roy, Joseph Sasseville Roy married Hélène, the daughter of Trefflé Baillargeon, in 1920. He ran unsuccessfully in the riding of Abitibi for a seat in the Legislative Assembly of Quebec in 1927 and 1931 as a Quebec Conservative Party candidate.^[2] Roy distanced himself from the Conservatives in 1941 after disagreeing with them on the subject of conscription and subsequently joined the "Independent Group" of anti-conscription MPs led by Frédéric Dorion.^[3] He was unsuccessful in his re-election bids to represent the Gaspé constituency in 1945 when he ran for re-election as an independent and again in 1949 when he was the Progressive Conservative candidate.^[1] During World War II, he was criticized by the Canadian military for raising the issue of German U-boat attacks in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. He wished to ensure that merchant ships were being protected; the military wished to prevent information leaking back to the enemy.^[4]

In 1961, Sasseville Roy was nominated for the position of president of the Federal Progressive Conservative Association of Quebec but withdrew in favour of Luce Pelland-Sauvé, the widow of Paul Sauvé.^[5] He died around 1969.^[6]

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