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The Honourable Jean-Paul Deschatelets, 1968-1972

The Senate commissions a portrait of every Speaker in recognition of the procedural and protocol importance of that role — a tradition that predates Confederation.

The subject of this portrait, the Honourable Jean-Paul Deschatelets, represented a Quebec riding in the House of Commons from 1953 to 1965. For two of those years, he served as a federal minister in then-prime minister Lester B. Pearson’s cabinet. 

Appointed to the Senate in 1966, Mr. Deschatelets served as Speaker from 1968 until 1972. In the Red Chamber, he was fiercely independent and often clashed with his own party, notably opposing the federal government’s 1980 plan to patriate the Canadian Constitution. Mr. Deschatelets retired from the Senate in January 1986.

The Speaker can choose the artist for whom they would like to sit; Mr. Deschatelets selected Joyce Devlin. Born in British Columbia and based in Ontario, Ms. Devlin is known for vibrant paintings and juxtaposing abstract collage with images of landscapes.

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