Born into French Canada's traditional elite, a legal and landholding aristocracy, Louis-Alexandre Taschereau emerged as the leading champion of industrial development in early twentieth-century Quebec. As premier from 1920 to 1936, and previously as chief lieutenant in the Liberal government of Sir Lomer Gouin, Taschereau vigorously advocated the development of Quebec's immense hydraulic forest, and mineral resources as the key to a prosperous future. His policy of encouraging private, usually non-French-Canadian entrepreneurs earned him the undying enmity of nationalist and conservative forces, yet he defended his position openly and won four general elections despite an unfavorable economic climate during much of his premiership. Bernard L. Vigod provides the first balanced assessment of Taschereau's long career, countering the popular image of him - largely the creation of his political opponents - as the leader of a corrupt, reactionary regime tied to "foreign" financiers.