Born in Saint-Jean-d'Iberville, Quebec, Monet joined the Society of Jesus in 1949 and was ordained in 1966.^[1] He studied history at Université Laval and the University of Toronto, where he received a Ph.D. in History.^[2]

He joined the Department of History of the University of Ottawa in 1969 and was the chairman of the Department from 1972 to 1976. He left in 1980 to join Regis College, Toronto. He was President of the Canadian Historical Association from 1975 to 1976.^[2] He was also Rector of the University of Sudbury.

In 2012, Fr Monet was appointed to the Advisory Committee on Vice-Regal Appointments by Stephen Harper.

• The Last Cannon Shot: A Study of French-Canadian Nationalism 1837-1850 (1969) ISBN 0802052118 LCCN 70-455781
• The Canadian Crown (1979) ISBN 0772012520 LCCN 80-453228
  • French version: La monarchie au Canada. Le Cercle du livre de France. 1979. ISBN 2890510123. LCCN 79125761; 96 pages : illustrated ; 21 x 27 cm.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
• Union of the Canadas 1837-1867 (1985) ISBN 0717218678 OL 16355380M

• ""Conscience of a Nation" edited by Jacques Monet, SJ [Subject Matters S2.E9]". YouTube. Salt and Light Media. May 19, 2017.