Guillaume Chatre
| Portrait | 
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| Birth: | 1776 |
| Death: | 1850 |
| Profession(s): | Farmer, Laywer, Politician |
| Political Party: | Loyal Republican |
| Religious Affiliation: | Latin Rite Catholic (lapsed) |
Guillaume Chatre was the 12th Moderator of Ontario serving from 1842 to 1845, one of the last major political figures in the North American League to call himself a member of the Loyal Republican Party.
Chatre was by most standards of his day a radical liberal, who who admired Louisianne and despised almost all forms of nobility. Born in the district of what became Pays-d'en-haut, the eldest of nine children, he had to take over the family farm when his father was killed in a duel when Guillaume himself was only sixteen. One of the many controversies that surrounded his life was the fact that years later he challenged the man who killed his father--now quite elderly and blind--to a duel in retribution, and hounded him with accusations of cowardice for refusing to fight. He enthusiastically supported the declaration of the Solemn League and Covenant and became a vocal leader of the "Stars", that faction which wanted the Gallophone areas of Ontario to remain loyal to the new League (as opposed to the "Flowers" who wished to secede and join New Francy). (see Stars and Flowers)
A fierce and sometimes sentimental man, Chatre dominated his siblings and the lives of his children from three marriages--to Jeanne Marie Trudeau (1765-1829) in 1798, to Adoette Orono (17??-1842) in 1830, and finally to Esther Brustein (1829-1901) in 1849. The last of his children, Guillaume Luc, was born after his death. Chatre fought no less than six duels with those who insulted the honor of his family, and survived three pistol wounds. The scar on one side of his face was rumored to be from a saber (actually it resulted from an accident on the farm when he was a boy). His scathing oratory made him a popular draw at debates.
Contrary to urban legend, he was never in fact excommunicated.
| Preceded by: Constantine Joanes |
 Moderator of Ontario |
Succeeded by: Michael J. Wolfe the Younger |
| 1842 - 1845 |
