Born in Maskinongé, Quebec in 1874, Lafrenière grew up in Montreal and Louiseville before beginning his musical education at the collège Saint-Joseph in Berthierville.

From 1885 to 1898, he gave piano lessons and served as chapelmaster at the Saint-Charles-Borromée church in Joliette and led the local Ceclian Society.

At the beginning of the 20th century, he began to venture into modern musical genres, taking a particular interest in the rise of ragtime in the United States.

Nicknamed "The Canadian Strauss", despite his talents, Lafrenière lived a life of poverty and died during a bout with tuberculosis on January 4, 1912, aged only 37.

Thanks to the work of Canadian pianist Mimi Blais(fr), Lafrenière's music has regained popularity and is now regularly heard on Radio-Classique Montréal.