Written by Staff Blogger Jeanna
Introduced as a mid-winter holiday in 2015, Nova Scotia Heritage Day is observed annually on the third Monday in February. Each year, an important Nova Scotian or a culturally significant place or event is chosen to be honoured and celebrated. In 2026, our honouree is Joseph Willie Comeau. An Acadian from Nova Scotia’s Clare region, Comeau had a long and tenured political career, serving in both the Nova Scotia Legislature and the Canadian Senate.
Background and Beginnings
Joseph Willie Comeau was born in Comeauville, Nova Scotia in 1876. Comeauville is a small community in the Municipality of Clare in Digby County. Son of Louis Comeau and Catherine (Bourneuf) Comeau, he was the descendent of Acadians from Grand Pré, Nova Scotia. In a 1949 Senate speech, he shared that his paternal ancestors were early Acadian arrivals in the province, hailing from St. Malo, France.
Sometimes referred to as Nova Scotia’s French Acadian Shore, Clare’s villages are concentrated along Saint Mary’s Bay. Clare is home to the largest Acadian community in Nova Scotia, and it’s the only municipality in the province that operates in both English and French. When Comeau was growing up, many of the families in the area would have relied on farming or fishing for both food and their family income.
Politics ran in the family for Comeau. His great-grandfather, François Lambert Bourneuf, was elected MLA for Digby County in 1843, and again in 1847, 1851 and 1855.
Education, Early Workforce Years, and Paris
At age 15, Comeau enrolled at Collège Sainte-Anne in Church Point (now Université Saint-Anne). He was one of the recently-founded school’s first students. In her book, Comeauville of Yesteryear, Eileen M. Stuart recounts that although Comeau’s family wasn’t wealthy enough for an education of this kind, but they were able to pay in trade: a young calf in exchange for his tuition.
Once Comeau had completed his education, he spent some time teaching at Collège Sainte-Anne. A few years later, around the turn of the twentieth century, he was approached with an exciting opportunity. Canada was looking for bilingual candidates to work at the upcoming Paris Exposition and Comeau was asked to apply. He won the position and was soon on his way to France.
The Paris Exposition of 1900 was the fifth World Fair held in the French capitol, and this one was the biggest and brightest. Running from April to November, the expo attracted more than 50 million visitors. Comeau worked as Assistant Commissioner at the Canadian Pavilion. It must have been a thrilling experience for him to spend this time living in the City of Lights, involved in such a spectacular event.
According to Stuart’s Comeauville of Yesteryear, while living in Paris, Comeau had a special social engagement with ties from home. Once a month, he visited with Collège Sainte-Anne founders Father Morin and Father Blanche at the Mother House of the Eudist Fathers in Versailles. Retired and now living in France, they were happy for the chance to catch up on what had been going on back home in Church Point since their departure.
Family Life
Comeau returned to Nova Scotia soon after the expo ended. Home again, his personal life flourished. In January of 1902, Comeau married Grace Sheehan. He had a beautiful house built in Comeauville in 1907. Soon, the couple’s family was growing, and they would have seven children together.
Sadly, Grace passed away at age forty-four. In 1915, Comeau married again. His second wife was Zoé Doucet from Belliveau Cove. They had nine children.
Political Career 1907-1948: The Nova Scotia Legislature
In 1907, Comeau’s career in politics began. He was elected to the Nova Scotia Legislature as a Liberal MLA for Digby County by acclimation to fill a vacancy. He was re-elected continuously until he was appointed to the Legislative Council in 1925. When that body was abolished in 1928 by the Rhodes Conservative government, Comeau ran again for the legislature and was again successfully elected.
In all, Comeau served in provincial politics for an impressive 41 years. At one point in his tenure, he became the first Acadian to occupy the role of Acting Premier of Nova Scotia.
Political Career 1948-1966: The Canadian Senate
When Comeau left the Nova Scotia Legislature in 1948, it was not to retire: he left to become a Canadian Senator.
In a Halifax Chronicle Herald article from December 3, 1965 (pgs. 1 & 42), Comeau recounted the story of his appointment to reporter Alvin M. Savage. He had been introduced to then-Prime Minister Louis St-Laurent at a political dinner in 1948. During this first conversation, St-Laurent remarked to Comeau that they would soon be seeing each other more often.
A few weeks later, Comeau answered a phone call in his hotel room. The voice on the other end asked if they were speaking to Senator Comeau. “I replied it was Mr. Comeau, but I didn’t know anything about a Senator Comeau,” Comeau said. “Then I recognized the voice. It was the Prime Minister. He simply said: ‘well, the document is on the way to the Governor General, and I don’t see why he won’t sign it. Congratulations!’”
When Savage’s Halifax Chronicle Herald article was published in December of 1965, Comeau was 89 years old, and still committed to politics. He was “[looking] forward to early January when he will board the train for Ottawa to again take his Senate seat in the new session of parliament.”
Sadly, Comeau would not return to Ottawa for the new session. He became ill, and in January of 1966 he passed away. He left behind a rich legacy, a large family (including 14 children, 37 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren), and a political career spanning decades: 58 years of political service.
Impact and Recognition
Comeau’s life was an active one, full of hard work, commitment, and community involvement. In addition to his political career and his time as a school teacher, at points in his life he was also a farmer, a fish dealer, and a fox rancher.
As a politician, Comeau advocated for his community and for what he believed in. Making improvements to the education system for Acadians was important to him, and something he worked toward in his political career. In 1923, he led a drive to have a new school built in Clare. In 1939, he played an important part in bringing a new curriculum to Acadian schools, and he helped establish credit courses for teaching-training at his Alma matter, Collège Sainte-Anne.
In recognition of his work, Comeau was named to L’Ordre de la Fidélité Acadienne by the Association Acadienne d’Éducation de la Nouvelle-Écosse. He was also awarded the Order of Saint Gregory the Great from Pope Pius XII for outstanding contributions to Canada’s moral and political life.
At the time of his retirement at age 89, Comeau had the distinction of being Canada’s longest-serving active politician. And a commitment to political life would continue to run in the family. Comeau’s son, Benoit Comeau, would follow him into provincial politics and his grandson, Robert Thibault, would become a federal Member of Parliament.
Congratulations to Joseph Willie Comeau, Nova Scotia's Heritage Day Honouree.
Library Sources
The Acadians of Nova Scotia Past and Present
A Directory of the Members of the Legislative Assembly of Nova Scotia, 1758-1958
- April 20, 1961
- March 19, 1962
- December 3, 1965
- January 12, 1966
Additional Sources
Acadian homes Comeauville August, 1950, Nova Scotia Archives
Bourneuf, François-Lambert, Dictionary of Canadian Biography
Bourneuf, François Lambert, Université Sainte-Anne, Les Capsules Acadiennes
Clare Festival, Church Point with Université Ste.-Anne in background, 1958, Nova Scotia Archives
The Hon. Robert Thibault, P.C., Parliament of Canada
Interior Decoration: Province House Legislative Council Chamber (1), Nova Scotia Archives
Louis St. Laurent, Canadian History Ehx
L’Université Sainte-Anne, EDU Nova
Municipality of Clare, District Map
Parliament of Canada: Senate Debates, 20th Parliament, 5th Session, Vol. 1
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