John was born in Dieppe and went to New France before 1642.
He offered himself as a lifetime lay volunteer, a donné, to the Jesuits: "a life of service to God, even if it meant martyrdom."
Isaac Jogues and LaLande left Quebec on September 24, 1646 with some Hurons. The Mohawks were again on the warpath, so the Hurons returned to Three Rivers. The Mohawks captured Jogues again, and killed him on October 18, 1646. John was killed the following day while trying to recover Jogues' body.
John LaLande, Isaac Jogues, René Goupil, Jean de Brébeuf, Gabriel Lallemant, Charles Garnier, Anthony Daniel and Noel Chabanel were all beatified as the North American Martyrs by Pius XI on June 21, 1925, and canonized by Pius XI on June 29, 1930.