Born in Lefaivre, Simon Bertrand took over the family’s farm in 1920. He kept improving the Aryshire herd, while also developing self-sufficiency on his farm. Best known for his social involvement, he was the fourth provincial president of the UCFO from 1945 to 1946. As president of the Cercle agricole de Lefaivre, he remained a leader in his community.
During the 1940’s, he was as a member of the Coopérative agricole de Lefaivre and a guarantor to the Bank of Canada for the purchases of grain wagons from Western Canada. He coordinated the shipments, collected the payments and then paid the Bank. This great, dedicated and well-respected Franco-Ontarian was also the president of the Alfred Chamber of Commerce, mayor of the municipality (1943-1948), city councillor for the Township of Alfred, secretary of School number 15 in Alfred, Grand Knight of Colombus, churchwarden of the Lefaivre parish, director of the Cercle du curé Laniel and a liberal candidate at the provincial election in the 1940’s.