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André Chagnon

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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  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.
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