He was born in Saint-Constant in 1808, the son of Joseph Cardinal, a Montreal merchant, and studied at the Petit Séminaire de Montréal.
In 1834, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada for Laprairie County, as a supporter of the parti patriote.
Cardinal did not take part in the armed rebellion, but fled to New York after his political opponents threatened to turn him over to the authorities because of his support for the Patriote movement.
Considered leaders of the rebellion at Châteauguay, Cardinal and three others were sentenced to death for the crime of high treason with a recommendation for executive clemency.
In 1858, his remains were moved to the Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery and buried under a monument dedicated to the Patriotes of 1837–8.