Jacques Leneuf de La Poterie (French pronunciation: [ʒak lənœf də la pɔtʁi]; November 7, 1604, in Caen, Normandy - died some time after November 4, 1687, in Canada)[1] was a fur merchant, businessman, seigneur, and co-founder and director of the Communauté des habitants, in the colony of Canada.
He arrived in the colony in 1636 with the rest of his family, which included his elder brother Michel Leneuf, and together they, alongside their in-laws the Legardeurs, were the first of the French nobility to permanently settle in New France.
[2] He acquired and was granted several fiefs, and became one of the principal landholders and businessman in Canada, alongside his elder brother Michel.
"[2] At the death of de Saffray on May 6, 1665, Jacques registered his commission to succeed as Governor, but the Sovereign Council voted to block the full authority of the office, ruling that only the King could name a Governor, and granted him power over the Militia only, which he oversaw until the arrival of the next royal appointment from France, Daniel de Rémy, in September of the same year.
[3] He eventually settled his disputes with the Sovereign Council, and his son Michel would end up being one of the leading military commanders and government officials in Acadia.