Gonzalve Doutre was born on July 12, 1842, in Montreal, Quebec.

He was a law reformer, professor, and author. He was educated at McGill University (B.C.L., 1861; D.C.L., 1873) and was called to the bar of Lower Canada in 1863. He devoted himself to the reform of the law in Lower Canada and drafted the Act of 1866 which raised the standards of admission to the bar in that part of the province. He was a professor of civil procedure, legal medicine, and forensic logic at McGill University, and he published “Lois de la procédure civile” (2 vols.,1867-1869). With, Edmond Lareau, he co-wrote “Le droit civil canadien, vol. I” (1873). He was also president of the Institut Canadien de Montréal in 1871.

He died on February 28, 1880, in Montreal, Quebec.