His writings influenced Louis-Hippolyte LaFontaine, who ultimately achieved responsible government, working in partnership with Robert Baldwin, leader of the Reformers from Upper Canada.

Parent was born in the parish of Notre-Dame de la Nativité, near the town of Beauport (now part of Quebec City), in 1802.

His family found him a job with his uncle, Michel Clouet, who ran a hardware store in Quebec and was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada.

His writings provided intellectual rigour to the political arguments being made by leaders of the Parti canadien, such as Louis-Joseph Papineau and John Neilson.

He defended the changes proposed by the Resolutions, such as an elected Legislative Council and control of public finance by the Assembly, as being consistent with British parliamentary government.

In Parent's view, the people of Lower Canada, as British subjects, had the right to criticise their government and propose reforms, designed to achieve local self-government while maintaining the link to Britain.

The Home Secretary, Lord John Russell, proposed ten resolutions in response, which were issued and adopted by the British House of Commons.

Papineau and his supporters began to agitate to challenge the British colonial government, including a series of large-scale public rallies.

Rebellion would lead to the loss of the local parliamentary institutions, rights and freedoms, and a return to an oligarchic council, as had been the case under the Quebec Act, 1774.

[1][2][9] He also foresaw the inevitable bloodshed which rebellion would cause: We in no way wish to share the terrible responsibility assumed today by our former brothers in arms and their partisans: we impute to them the blame for all the blood that will be shed .

"[a] Morin worked to build up the Patriotes in the Quebec area, while Parent continually urged moderation and attacked the trend towards violence.

"[b] Morin failed in his attempt to create a group of Fils de la Liberté in the Quebec area.

[1][12] After the second outbreak of rebellion in late 1838 was suppressed by the British military, he wrote in December 1838: The groans of the oppressed awaken remorse in the hearts of the oppressors, and bring a blush to their faces.

In December 1838, following his harsh criticisms of the British repression of the rebellion, he was arrested by the colonial government and imprisoned on grounds of "seditious schemings", based on his articles in Le Canadien.

He feared that the powers of assimilation might overcome the French-Canadian identity: "L'assimilation, sous le nouvel état des choses, se fera graduellement et sans secousse, et sera d'autant plus prompte qu'on laissera à son cours naturel".

In his view, the principles of British parliamentarianism, if applied to the new union, would give French-Canadians the opportunity for self-government and survival.

He rejected calls for annexation to the United States as a solution, as he believed that would lead to the disappearance of French-Canadians as a separate people and culture.

In October 1840, Parent published an "Address to the electors of the whole province", coming out in favour of union as a means to achieve responsible government.

When LaFontaine was elected to a seat in Canada West, with the support of Robert Baldwin, Parent wrote in Le Canadien about the strong support Reformers in Canada West were giving to French-Canadians: "Ils élisent M. Lafontaine pour montrer, disent-ils, leur sympathie envers les Bas-Canadiens, et leur détestation des mauvais traitements et des injustices auxquelles nous avons été exposés.

Working closely with LaFontaine, he voted in favour of a motion condemning the union of the two provinces, and was a consistent opponent of the policies of Governor General Lord Sydenham.

He also introduced a bill calling on French to be given equal status in the Assembly, with the goal of overriding the provision of the Union Act, 1840 which provided that only English was to be used.

As that position was a non-partisan public service post, Parent resigned his seat in the Assembly, as well as his editorship of Le Canadien.

In his farewell message to his readers, Parent praised the political developments under the union, with French-Canadians being leading members of the Cabinet: "... l'heureuse révolution qui a succédé à nos malheurs.

[1][2][3][22] On his appointment as clerk to the Executive Council, Parent gave up his role with Le Canadien, ending his journalism career.

[1][2][3] In June 1829, after being called to the bar, Parent married Henriette-Mathilde Grenier, daughter of a cooper from Notre-Dame de la Nativité.

His ideas provided the intellectual framework for the political positions taken by Papineau, Morin, and others during the 1830s, and found their way into the Ninety-Two Resolutions.

Parent in turn gave general support for LaFontaine's proposal for a political partnership with the reformers of Upper Canada, led by Baldwin.

[1][3] In addition to his political writings, Parent was an intellectual and a man of letters, who helped develop a body of French-Canadian literature.

Later, as a lecturer and senior official, he promoted the study of political economy as a means of advancing the development of the French-Canadian nation.

Bédard takes the position that it is time to re-examine that approach, and to consider their role as reform successors to the Patriotes, seeking to find a way to improve the social and economic lives of French-Canadians.