Elzéar Goulet

Elzéar Goulet (November 18, 1836 – September 13, 1870) was a Métis leader in the Red River Colony, which later became the province of Manitoba, Canada. He was a supporter of Louis Riel's provisional government and was murdered by Canadian troops under the command of Col. Garnet Wolseley, after the suppression of the Red River Resistance.

Two of Goulet's brothers were also involved in Manitoba's early political history: Maxime Goulet was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba and Roger Goulet held posts in the government.

Goulet was born at St. Boniface in the Red River Colony. He received some education there, and married Hélène Jérôme at Pembina in the Dakota Territory in 1859 (Jérôme was the niece of Joseph Rolette, a local merchant and politician). He worked as a mail carrier from Pembina to the Red River from 1860 to 1869 and became an American citizen.

Goulet joined Riel's forces at Upper Fort Garry in 1869 and became second-in-command of the Métis militia under Ambroise-Dydime Lépine. On March 3, 1870, he served on the tribunal that passed judgement on Thomas Scott, an Orangeman from Ontario who was accused of treason against the provisional government. Goulet voted with the majority to impose a death sentence and was one of Scott's escorts to the firing squad the next day. The execution outraged many Ontarians and contributed to the collapse of Riel's government later in the year, when a military expedition under Garnet Joseph Wolseley entered the settlement.

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