Born in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, the son of Homère Fauteux and Héva Mercier, he studied at the Université de Montréal and graduated with an LL.L in 1925.

[citation needed] In 1946 he was a legal adviser with the Royal Commission on Spying Activities in Canada.

[citation needed] Chief Justice Fauteux died on September 14, 1980, at the age of 79 and was interred in the Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery in Montreal.

[citation needed] His grandfather, Honoré Mercier and his uncle, Lomer Gouin, were both former Premiers of Quebec.

His grandmother's second husband was Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) and later Senator Joseph Godbout.