Guy Saint-Pierre, (born August 3, 1934 – January 23, 2022) was a Canadian entrepreneur, business executive, politician and philanthropist. He is best known for having orchestrated the merger of SNC and

Lavalin Lavalin was a Canadian civil engineering and construction firm based in Montreal, Quebec. After a major expansion program in the 1980s that led to financial difficulties, in 1991 Lavalin merged with its long-time competitor, Surveyer, Nenniger & Che ...

to create

SNC Lavalin SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. is a Canadian company based in Montreal that provides engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) services to various industries, including mining and metallurgy, oil and gas, environment and water, infrastructure, an ...

, the largest engineering firm in Canada and one of the largest in the world, in 1991. He also became the

Chairman of the Board The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

of the

Royal Bank of Canada Royal Bank of Canada (RBC; french: Banque royale du Canada) is a Canadian multinational financial services company and the largest bank in Canada by market capitalization. The bank serves over 17 million clients and has more than 89,000& ...

in 2001, being the first

French Canadian French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco-Canadiens), refers to either an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to Fren ...

to hold the position.

Background

Born in

Windsor, Quebec Windsor is a town of 5,300 people, part of the Le Val-Saint-François Regional County Municipality in the Estrie region of Quebec, Canada. Windsor is perhaps best known for its ultra-modern Domtar fine paper plant. History Apart from the Abenak ...

, he was the son of Armand Saint-Pierre and wife Alice Perra. Saint-Pierre graduated from

Université Laval Université Laval is a public research university in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The university was founded by royal charter issued by Queen Victoria in 1852, with roots in the founding of the Séminaire de Québec in 1663 by François de Montmo ...

with a B.A.Sc. degree in

Civil Engineering Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewage ...

in 1957. He obtained an

M.Sc. A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

degree from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

in 1959 and held a D.I.C. from the

Imperial College London Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...

. In 1959, Saint-Pierre joined the army as an officer in the Corps of Royal Canadian Engineers at Camp Gagetown, New Brunswick.

Political career

Saint-Pierre was elected to the

National Assembly of Quebec The National Assembly of Quebec (officially in french: link=no, Assemblée nationale du Québec) is the legislative body of the province of Quebec in Canada. Legislators are called MNAs (Members of the National Assembly; french: link=no, déput ...

in the 1970 election in

Verchères Verchères is an off-island suburb of Montreal, in Montérégie, Quebec, located on the south bank of the Saint Lawrence River. The population as of the Canada 2011 Census was 5,692. History In the 17th century, the settlement at Verchères w ...

as a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

and re-elected in Chambly in the 1973 election. He served for two years as Minister of Education and from 1972 to 1976 as Minister of Industry and Trade. Saint-Pierre lost his bid for re-election in the 1976 election against

Parti Québécois The Parti Québécois (; ; PQ) is a sovereignist and social democratic provincial political party in Quebec, Canada. The PQ advocates national sovereignty for Quebec involving independence of the province of Quebec from Canada and establishin ...

candidate

Denis Lazure Denis Lazure (October 12, 1925 – February 23, 2008) was a Canadian psychiatrist and politician. Lazure was a Member of the National Assembly of Quebec (MNA) from 1976 to 1984 and from 1989 to 1996. He is the father of actress Gabrielle La ...

Later life

In 1978, Saint-Pierre was appointed president and general manager of Ogilvie Mills Ltd, becoming president and chief executive officer in 1980. From January 1989, Saint-Pierre was president and chief executive officer of the

SNC-Lavalin SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. is a Canadian company based in Montreal that provides engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) services to various industries, including mining and metallurgy, oil and gas, environment and water, infrastructure, a ...

Group Inc. In 1996 he became chairman of the board, and retired in 2002. In 1992 he was made an Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

and in 2002 he was promoted to Companion. In 2009, he was made a Grand Officer of the

National Order of Quebec The National Order of Quebec, termed officially in French as ''l'Ordre national du Québec'', and in English abbreviation as the Order of Quebec, is an order of merit in the Canadian province of Quebec. Instituted in 1984 when Lieutenant Gove ...

. Saint-Pierre held honorary degrees from

Concordia University Concordia University ( French: ''Université Concordia'') is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College and Sir George Williams University, Concordia is one of the t ...

, Université Laval,

École des Hautes Études Commerciales HEC Paris (french: École des hautes études commerciales de Paris) is a business school, and one of the most prestigious and selective grandes écoles, located in Jouy-en-Josas, France. HEC offers Master in Management, MSc International Fi ...

of the

Université de Montréal The Université de Montréal (UdeM; ; translates to University of Montreal) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte-de ...

Université de Sherbrooke The University of Sherbrooke ( French: Université de Sherbrooke) (UdS) is a large public French-language university in Quebec, Canada with campuses located in Sherbrooke and Longueuil, a suburb of Montreal approximately west of Sherbrooke. It ...

, the

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (french: Université d'Ottawa), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ottawa ...

and le

Collège militaire royal de Saint-Jean The Royal Military College Saint-Jean (french: link=no, Collège militaire royal de Saint-Jean), commonly referred to as RMC Saint-Jean and CMR, is a Canadian Military academy, military college and university. It is located on the historical site ...

. He served on the board of directors of

Alcan Alcan was a Canadian mining company and aluminum manufacturer. It was founded in 1902 as the Northern Aluminum Company, renamed Aluminum Company of Canada in 1925, and Alcan Aluminum in 1966. It took the name Alcan Incorporated in 2001. During t ...

Inc.,

BCE Common Era (CE) and Before the Common Era (BCE) are year notations for the Gregorian calendar (and its predecessor, the Julian calendar), the world's most widely used calendar era. Common Era and Before the Common Era are alternatives to the or ...

Bell A bell is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be made by an inter ...

General Motors of Canada General Motors of Canada Company (french: La Compagnie General Motors du Canada), commonly known as GM Canada, is the Canadian subsidiary of US-based company General Motors. It is headquartered in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. In the aftermath of the ...

and

Inc. between 1990 and 2007.

Personal life and death

Saint-Pierre and his wife, Francine Garneau, lived in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

. They had three children. He died at his home in Montreal on 23 January 2022, at the age of 87.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint-Pierre, Guy 1934 births 2022 deaths French Quebecers Alumni of Imperial College London Companions of the Order of Canada Grand Officers of the National Order of Quebec Quebec Liberal Party MNAs Université Laval alumni Royal Military College Saint-Jean people Directors of Royal Bank of Canada People of Bell Canada General Motors Canada General Motors former executives Directors of SNC-Lavalin People of Rio Tinto (corporation) People from Windsor, Quebec Canadian chairpersons of corporations