Pierre-Joseph-Olivier Chauveau (French pronunciation: [pjɛʁ ʒozɛf ɔlivje ʃovo]; May 30, 1820 – April 4, 1890) was a Canadian lawyer and politician.

However, he gradually came to support Louis-Hippolyte LaFontaine, who argued that the union gave an opportunity for French-Canadians to acquire political power, through the establishment of responsible government.

Following his retirement from politics, he held several different positions, including dean of the faculty of law at the Université Laval.

His father died when he was young, so he was raised by his mother and his maternal grandfather, a wealthy merchant in Quebec City.

[1] From 1829 to 1837, he attended the Petit Séminaire de Québec, where he gained a reputation as an excellent student, with strong literary interests.

[4] Chauveau early on considered entering the priesthood, but eventually decided to follow a career as a lawyer, practising in Quebec City.

He initially articled with his maternal uncle, Louis-David Roy, who was in partnership with André-Rémi Hamel, the Attorney General of Lower Canada.

From 1841 to 1855, he contributed letters to the New York newspaper, Le Courrier des États-Unis, commenting on the political situation in Canada from the French-Canadian perspective.

He supported the Comité constitutionnel de la réforme et du progrès, founded at Quebec City in 1846.

In 1873, Chauveau resigned his seat in the Legislative Assembly of Quebec and as premier, to accept an appointment to the Senate of Canada.

In 1867, in addition to holding his seat in the Legislative Assembly, Chauveau was also elected to the first House of Commons, an example of the dual mandate, which was originally permitted in Canada.

In 1873, Chauveau resigned his federal and provincial seats, as well his office of premier, when he was appointed as Speaker of the Senate by the Macdonald government.