In the acquirement of an education Mr. Rivet attended Joliette College and Laval University, from which institution he was graduated B. A. in 1892 and LL. B. in 1895, in the same year being called to the bar as advocate. He was made king’s counsel in 1906 and for a number of years has been practicing successfully in Montreal, where he is ranked among brilliant and forceful barristers. For a time he was associated with the late C. Beausoleil, M. P., but the death of the latter severed this connection and subsequently he became associated with other firms, the present one being Rivet, Glass & Sullivan. He is recognized as a strong and able practitioner, a barrister whose knowledge of underlying legal principles is comprehensive and exact and whose application of points of law is always correct and logical. His keen and incisive mind grasps quickly all the details of the most intricate case, seizes upon the most telling points and arguments, and his presentations are models of conciseness and accuracy. Mr. Rivet has thus won distinction in his chosen profession and has secured a representative clientage in Montreal connecting him with a great deal of notable litigation. He has been interested and active in affairs affecting the Montreal bar, his ability being widely recognized in professional circles.
L. A. RIVET
As is often the case, Mr. Rivet’s success in law has carried with it prominence in politics and his interest in the growth and welfare of the province has carried him forward into important political relations. At the bi-election of 1904 he was returned to the house of commons and, representing Hochelaga in that body, served with ability and distinction until 1911. During this time he accomplished a great deal of constructive and important work in statesmanship, leaving the impress of his personality and standards upon useful, and beneficial legislation, his vote and influence being always on the side of right, reform and progress. A stanch liberal, Mr. Rivet has always supported the principles and policies of that party and has been one of the greatest individual forces in its expansion in Montreal, where he founded the St. Gabriel Liberal Club, of which he served as president in 1898. He has been a director of the Montreal Reform Club. He calls himself an imperialist and is one in the sense that the greatness of the empire depends to a great extent on the fair development of the colonies. He is, however, a stanch advocate of Canadian customs and institutions and has done as much as any one man in the Dominion to promote their spread and growth. Although of French Canadian extraction he speaks English fluently and often addressed the house of commons in that language. In a lecture on the dual language of Canada delivered before the Nomads’ Club in 1909 he advocated Canada as a bi-lingual nation and he has done much to promote the fusion of the two great nations which dominate the country. He also addressed the Canadian Club in Ontario, advocating closer relations between the two races, in view of national unity.
Mr. Rivet married in January, 1898, Mlle. Rose Cypihot and both are widely and favorably known in social circles of Montreal. Their children are: Gaston, born June 23, 1901; Marguerite, January 10, 1904; and Gerard, January 24, 1906.
Mr. Rivet has extensive and important club affiliations, belonging to the Club St. Denis, the Club Canadien de Montreal and the Reform Club, and socially is found to be genial, charming and constantly courteous. In his profession he has made continued and rapid advancement and his accomplishments in the political field have been substantial and far-reaching, so that he is well entitled to a high place among the representative and useful citizens of the city where he makes his home.