Louis-Hippolyte La Fontaine was born on October 4, 1807. He was first elected to the House of Assembly in 1830 as the member for Terrebonne, which he represented until 1838. In 1834, he made a speech in favour of  the Ninety-two Resolutions, but voted against their adoption.

      Deemed to be suspect during the insurrection, he was arrested by General Colborne and thrown in prison, then released for lack of sufficient evidence. Although he did not fight the Union regime, he was forcefully removed from the county of Terrebonne. From 1841 to 1844, he was the member for York, Upper Canada. In September 1842, he became joint Prime Minister with Robert Baldwin. He became the member for Terrebonne again in 1844, and later (1848-1851) represented Montreal. He died February 25, 1864.