He was born in Beauce County, Canada East (Quebec) in 1847, the son of Augustin Bolduc,[1] and was educated at College Sainte-Marie and Université Laval.

[1] He became a leading member of his community and successfully promoted the construction of a railway connecting his home town of St. Victor de Tring with the rest of the province and the eastern seaboard.

In 1876 he was elected in a by-election to the House of Commons of Canada representing the riding of Beauce, Quebec for the Conservative Party.

In 1910, he crossed party lines to support the controversial Laurier government's Naval Services Bill which created the Royal Canadian Navy.

He was appointed Speaker of the Senate by the Conservative government of Robert Borden in 1916 and presided over the upper chamber during the contentious debate on the Military Service Act of 1917, a bill that would introduce conscription.