Adélard Godbout was born on 24 September 1892 in Saint-Éloi, Québec, Canada. He was married to Dorilda Fortin. He died on 18 September 1956 in Montréal, Québec, Canada.
Prime minister of Québec in 1936 and 1939-1944, he founded Hydro-Québec, gave voting rights to women and made primary education compulsory. He is the great-uncle of Jacques and Claude Godbout.