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Pascal Breland came to be known as “Le Roi de Traiteurs”–“King of the Traders.” He was born in the Saskatchewan River Valley on 15 June 1811 to Pierre du Boishué dit Breland and Josephte (Louise) Belley, a Half-Breed. By 1849 Breland was a very prosperous trader with 380 acres of land in and around St. François Xavier. Breland spent a considerable amount of time on the Western Plains as a free trader in the areas of Fort Pitt, Wood Mountain-Cypress, Fort Qu’Appelle and Fort Ellis, Montana. As a result of Pascal’s extensive involvement in the trade and his wealth, he gained a social prestige in the area and he was a member of “la bourgeoisie Métisse.” Breland was subsequently elected to the new Manitoba Legislative Assembly in 1870 for the riding of St. Francis-Xavier and was appointed to the governing Council of the Northwest Territories. He was known as an able diplomat and a moderate Métis politician. Pascal Breland died on 24 October 1896 at the age of eighty-five after years of being a diplomat, businessman, pioneer and politician. At his passing many described him as a man of integrity, intelligence and humor who earned respect. |
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