year. Rejected in his bid to become Quebec Premier, Cauchon still sought higher office. In October 1867, he demanded that the Conservative government appoint him to the Senate of Canada, and allow him to be chosen as its first speaker. Narcisse-Fortunat Belleau was accordingly convinced to resign his Senate seat, and Cauchon took his place on November 2, 1867, becoming speaker three days later. His appointment was extremely unpopular with senators from both parties, and Cauchon subsequently identified himself as an Independent Conservative. The affair may have contributed to Cauchon's defeat at the hands of John Lemesurier in a bid for re-election as Quebec City's Mayor one month later. Despite the unpopularity of his appointment, Cauchon remained Speaker of the Senate until June 30, 1872 (though he stepped down on a temporary basis on two occasions, for eleven days in total). While in Ottawa he lived in Stadacona Hall in Sandy Hill. Cauchon was re-elected by acclamation to the Quebec assembly in 1871 and resigned his Senate seat in 1872 to run for the House of Commons again. This time running in Quebec Centre, he was opposed by an Anglophone Protestant named James Gibb Ross. The resulting election was divided on sectarian lines, and was extremely violent. Cauchon won by 964 votes to 694; he returned to parliament as an Independent Conservative and was not specifically aligned with either party. In 1873, Cauchon wanted to replace N. F. Belleau as lieutenant governor of Quebec, but was rejected by the Macdonald government due to his large number of enemies. He also wanted to become Quebec leader of the federal Conservative party after Cartier's death, but was too unpopular within the party. Following these rejections, he began to align himself with the opposition Liberals, joining the party when the Pacific Scandal brought down Macdonald's government later in the year. Cauchon resigned his seat in the Quebec legislature in February 1874 when his "dual mandate" became illegal, and thereafter focused his attentions on federal advancement. Cauchon's presence in the Liberal Party was a matter of convenience for both sides. Cauchon provided the Liberals with a link to various Catholic concerns in Quebec, and helped the party rebuild a provincial network. In return, Cauchon was appointed to cabinet as President of the Privy Council on December 7, 1875. Liberal Prime Minister Alexander Mackenzie subsequently wanted to promote him to Minister of Justice, but was