Joseph-Édouard Turcotte was a lawyer, businessman, and political figure in Canada East. Born to a merchant family, he considered the priesthood, but after the loss of one arm in an accident, he opted instead for a legal career. In addition to the law, he was engaged in journalism and in business activities in Trois-Rivières.

Louis-Joseph Papineau, born in Montreal, Quebec, was a politician, lawyer, and the landlord of the seigneurie de la Petite-Nation. He was the leader of the reformist Patriote movement before the Lower Canada Rebellion of 1837–1838. His father was Joseph Papineau, also a politician in Quebec. Papineau was the eldest of eight children and was the grandfather of the journalist Henri Bourassa, founder of the newspaper Le Devoir.