LOUIS RIEL &
JOSEPH DUBUC:
​​ FRIENDS & ENEMIES
LOUIS RIEL & JOSEPH DUBUC:
FRIENDS & ENEMIES
As a child, I was introduced to the stories of various famous ancestors on both sides of my family. Recalling these memories has inspired this project. It is a labour of love for me to share “Louis Riel & Joseph Dubuc: Friends & Enemies" which is based on the memoirs of Joseph Dubuc, my maternal great-grandfather. As well, the biographies, academic manuscript and various historic references attest to the fact that Dubuc has not received the attention he deserves.
~ Don Lamoreux
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This historical drama is based on true events from Canada’s Wild West that led to the formation of the provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. It follows the parallel lives of two soulmates: the charismatic, polarizing revolutionary, Louis Riel, and the highly respected statesman and chief judge, Joseph Dubuc. Riel, coming from a bourgeois Métis background, and Dubuc, from a poor farming family in rural Quebec, meet and bond at the Collège de Montréal.
Both men survived several assassination attempts as they set up the Provisional Government of the Red River. Riel executes the would-be assassin Thomas Scott, sealing his fate with Orange Ontario.
Insanity and Rebellion
Both men were highly religious and suffered difficult courtships as a result of their involvement in the trying events of the time. Riel marries after two failed engagements while Dubuc’s marriage is saved from disaster as his letter cancelling his engagement to the beautiful aristocrat Annie Hénault is burned in the great Chicago Fire of 1871.
​Both suffer from the bigotry and racism of the Orangemen of Ontario while advancing the cause of the Métis and the French-Canadian settlers.
Dubuc wins a seat in Parliament while Riel is forced into exile. During this period, Riel falls victim to insanity and megalomania. Believing that he is a Prophet on a mission from God, Riel leads the North-West Rebellion of 1885.
He even makes a futile attempt to recruit Sitting Bull.
Dubuc, away from his friend, leaves politics for the judiciary. As Riel’s megalomania increases, Dubuc retreats into conservatism and respectability.
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​Betrayal and Death
Their friendship turns to enmity as Dubuc, who supported the first resistance, condemns the North-West Rebellion as treasonous. As Riel faces execution, Dubuc refuses to use his influence to save his old friend Reil. Riel is hanged while Dubuc is lionized by the Anglo-Canadian establishment.
This drama deals with the fickleness of fate and friendship as two close friends run parallel lives of involvement before faced with extraordinary events in history which cause them to realize their separate destinies as enemies.
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