Alfred Laliberté is known primarily as a sculptor, and he produced over 900 pieces during his lifetime. His practice embodied an authentic tradition of French Canadian carving, with his best known pieces dedicated to historical depictions of national figures and events in Canada and France. His work is often divided into two parts. The first is his academic execution of public monuments and statues. The second is his intimate personal practice of small works, which were created mainly for his own pleasure. In these he would work from his vivid imagination, often recreating scenes from daily life in his childhood in rural Quebec or illustrating traditional folk legends of the area.

Born into a farming family in 1878, Laliberté initially intended to take up the family business. However, at the age of 15 he began sculpting figurines as a hobby, astonishing friends and family for their accurate likenesses of the local people. At the age of 20, his life-sized bust of future Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier won first prize at the Provincial Exhibition in Quebec City. His work was seen by Laurier, who encouraged the young artist, convincing Laliberté’s father to let him attend the Conseil des arts et manufactures (CAM) school in Montreal, where he began studying in 1896.

Upon graduating, Laliberté received first prize in the class, which granted him a study trip abroad. In 1902 he left Canada to live and study in Paris at the prestigious École des beaux-arts, where he met another notable Canadian sculptor, Marc-Aurèle Suzor-Coté. During this time Laliberté showed at the Salon du Printemps in Paris, receiving an honourable mention for his sculpture Young Indians Hunting (circa 1905), which was later acquired by the National Gallery of Canada.

In 1922 Laliberté joined the faculty of the École des Beaux-Arts de Montréal, and in 1928 he cofounded the Sculptors Society of Canada. He wrote three manuscripts about his life and works, which were published together in 1978 as Mes souvenirs.