 He was also involved in a number of other business ventures and owned, through his firm, at one time or another, many key properties in Montreal.He was a major figure in the Montreal business community in the late 19th century, and he financed or played a role in much of the industrial development of the city at that time.He participated in municipal politics in Montreal as well, running unsuccessfully for alderman in 1873 against Ferdinand David, and later playing a key role in the establishment of the city of Maisonneuve (now part of Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve), for which he was mayor from 1884 to 1889 and from 1890 to 1892.