"By 'Acadians,' we mean all the French-speaking people living in the Maritime provinces [Translation]," Gaspard Boucher once wrote in his newspaper, Le Madawaska.

Born in Québec, Gaspard wanted to identify with all the Acadians in Madawaska and assert his belief that all Francophones in the region had to stand together in defence of their rights.

In 1920, when Gaspard was 22, his father bought the Royal Hotel in Edmundston and offered Gaspard the position of manager. It was quite a change for him, as he had studied agriculture and was an agronomist at the time! Nonetheless, he accepted his father's offer and moved to New Brunswick with his wife.

Gaspard very soon joined Albert Sormany, Maximilien Cormier, and others in study groups known as the Petite Boutique. At these meetings, the participants suggested ways of improving education for Acadians. Their ideas played a key role in the establishment of the Association acadienne d'éducation in 1936. Gaspard was one of the founders of this association, which worked for more than 20 years to further the cause of Acadian schools.

In the early 1920s, there was just one French-language newspaper in northwestern New Brunswick, Le Madawaska. Gaspard Boucher bought the newspaper in 1923 and became both manager and editor. In other words, he looked after the business side of the newspaper and wrote the main articles himself.

Gaspard's agricultural expertise proved very useful to him in the Madawaska region, for agriculture was the main industry there. Agriculture figured prominently in his newspaper. Readers came to understand that he knew the subject well. Gaspard also took an interest in all issues that were of concern to the public, particularly education.

Gaspard Boucher was one of the founders of the New Brunswick chapter of the Ordre de Jacques Cartier, an organization dedicated to defending the rights of Francophones.

Gaspard also helped establish credit unions in the Madawaska region and the Knights of Columbus Club in Edmundston. He got involved in the Société nationale des Acadiens and acted as spokesman for the Société mutuelle l'Assomption. To support youth, Gaspard launched a campaign on behalf of the Association catholique de la jeunesse canadienne, which soon had chapters in every parish in Madawaska. He was also one of the founders of the scouting movement in his district.

In 1935, Gaspard Boucher was elected to the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick. In 1953 he turned to federal politics and was elected Member of Parliament for Restigouche-Madawaska. He held his seat for only two years. In 1955, he died of a heart attack.