Born in Richelieu, Rouville County, Canada East, the son of Charles Gervais and Adele Monty, Gervais was educated at the "Petit Seminaire" of Sainte-Marie-de-Monnoir and Université Laval where he received a Master of Laws (LL.M.)

He was admitted to the Bar of the Province of Quebec on 13 January 1887 and created a Queen's Counsel in 1897.

In 1896, he joined Université Laval as a Professor of International Law and Civil Procedure.

He was first elected to the House of Commons of Canada for the Montreal electoral district of St. James in a 1904 by-election called after the 1902 by-election was declared void.

This article about a Quebec Member of Parliament from the Liberal Party of Canada is a stub.