Jump to content

André Chagnon

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The printable version is no longer supported and may have rendering errors. Please update your browser bookmarks and please use the default browser print function instead.

André Chagnon
OC OQ
Born(1928-03-17)March 17, 1928
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
DiedOctober 8, 2022(2022-10-08) (aged 94)
Awards

André Chagnon OC OQ (March 17, 1928 – October 8, 2022) was a Canadian businessman and philanthropist. He was noted for being the founder of telecommunications company Vidéotron.

Early life

Chagnon was born in the Ahuntsic neighbourhood of Montreal on March 17, 1928.[1][2] His father worked as an electrician and entrepreneur.[3] Chagnon was raised near Gouin Boulevard during the Great Depression,[4] and recounted how his family survived on "a lot of bread and molasses".[5] He attended the École technique de Montréal [fr] from 1945 to 1949.[6]

Career

Chagnon became an electrician like his father and began his work career by laying underground cables for the City of Montreal.[2][3] He eventually started his own contracting company – E. R. Chagnon et Fils[1] – in 1957, when he was 29.[3] He later sold it to his employees. In 1964, he founded the cable company Le Groupe Vidéotron. Under his leadership, the company adopted an acquisition-based growth strategy,[3] starting with the purchase of Câblevision Nationale in 1980. It went on to acquire Télé-Métropole six years later. This was ultimately sold when the company bought CF Cable in 1997.[1] Vidéotron was also listed on the Montreal Exchange in 1985,[1] and established a branch in London in 1988, before branching into the United States five years later.[3] These moves led to Vidéotron becoming Canada's third-largest telecommunications company and the largest in Quebec.[1][3]

Chagnon was one of the four industrial leaders invited by the Government of Canada to take part in the 1995 G-7 Ministerial Conference on the Information Society, held in Brussels. He was also named to the Information Highway Advisory Council that same year.[3] Retiring in 2000, Chagnon set up the Fondation Lucie et André Chagnon [fr], an organization working to prevent poverty and illness in families, which has $1.4 billion in assets and was one of the largest foundations in Canada.[3][5] He had a net worth of $474 million CDN in 2006.[7]

Personal life

Chagnon was married to Lucie Dolan-Chagnon for 65 years until her death in August 2014.[3][8] Together, they had five children. One of them, Christian, predeceased Chagnon.[8] Chagnon became a vegetarian around the 1990s.[5]

Chagnon died on October 8, 2022, at age 94.[8][9]

Awards and honours

Chagnon was appointed an officer of the Order of Canada in October 1992 and invested six months later in April of the following year.[3][10] He was inducted into the Canadian Business Hall of Fame in 2002.[3][11] One year later, he was invested as an officer of the National Order of Quebec.[3][12] He was subsequently conferred the Entrepreneur Of The Year 2005 Lifetime Achievement Award by Ernst & Young.[3] Chagnon was granted honorary doctorates from the University of Ottawa (2004),[13] McGill University (2004),[14] Concordia University (2004),[15] HEC Montréal (2008),[3] and Université Laval.[16] He was made a commander of the Order of Montreal in its inaugural class of 2016.[16]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Dubuc, André (October 8, 2022). "Décès de l'entrepreneur et philanthrope André Chagnon". La Presse (in French). Montreal. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Canada's Corporate Elite 1999". National Post. Toronto. November 1, 1999. p. 88. ProQuest 329635967. Retrieved October 9, 2022 – via ProQuest.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Fontaine, Myriam; Lambert, Maude-Emmanuelle (November 6, 2011). "The Lucie and André Chagnon Foundation". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Canada. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
  4. ^ Boone, Mike (January 31, 1987). "Andre Chagnon: As an electrician, he supplied power. Now, he wields it – Meet the new king of French television". Montreal Gazette. p. E1. ProQuest 431436427. Retrieved October 9, 2022 – via ProQuest.
  5. ^ a b c Bagnall, Janet (2005). "The revolutionary". Canadian Business. Vol. 78, no. 10. Toronto. pp. 24–25. ProQuest 221361538. Retrieved October 9, 2022 – via ProQuest.
  6. ^ Parker, Charles Whately; Greene, Barnet M. (1988). Who's who in Canada: An Illustrated Biographical Record of Men and Women of the Time. International Press Limited. p. 139. ISBN 9780771539602.
  7. ^ "The Rich 100: The Rich List | After Hours | Gotta do It | Canadian Business Online". www.canadianbusiness.com. Archived from the original on February 13, 2008. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  8. ^ a b c "Vidéotron founder André Chagnon dies at 94". Montreal Gazette. The Canadian Press. October 8, 2022. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
  9. ^ "Le fondateur de Vidéotron André Chagnon est décédé". Le Journal de Quebec. October 8, 2022. Retrieved October 8, 2022.
  10. ^ "Mr. André Chagnon". The Governor General of Canada. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
  11. ^ "André Chagnon". Canadian Business Hall of Fame. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
  12. ^ "André Chagnon" (in French). Government of Quebec. September 27, 2011. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
  13. ^ "André Chagnon". University of Ottawa. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
  14. ^ "Honorary doctorates 2004 Spring Convocation". McGill University. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
  15. ^ "Honorary degree citation – André Chagnon". Concordia University. June 2004. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
  16. ^ a b "André Chagnon". Montreal City Council. November 24, 2016. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=André_Chagnon&oldid=1206395206"