He was born in Rivière-du-Loup, in the Province of Lower Canada (now Quebec), on 23 July 1823, the son of Charles Taché, a merchant, and Louise-Henriette de Labroquerie, a descendent of the famed explorers Louis Jolliet and Gaultier de Varennes.
There Taché made a strong impression on the staff and on Bishop Ignace Bourget of Montreal.