André Chagnon
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André Chagnon (March 17, 1928 – October 8, 2022) was a Canadian businessman and philanthropist. He was noted for being the founder of telecommunications company
Vidéotron Vidéotron is a Canadian integrated telecommunications company founded in 1964. It's active in cable television, interactive multimedia development, video on demand, cable telephony, wireless communication and Internet access services. Owned by Qu ...
.


Early life

Chagnon was born in the
Ahuntsic Ahuntsic (; , ) is a district in the northern part of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Originally an independent village, Ahuntsic was first annexed by Montreal in 1910, then merged into the borough of Ahuntsic-Cartierville in 2002. It is home to Coll ...
neighbourhood of
Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
on March 17, 1928. His father worked as an electrician and entrepreneur. Chagnon was raised near
Gouin Boulevard Gouin Boulevard (officially in ) is the longest street on the Island of Montreal, stretching across the north side of the island from Senneville, in the west, to Pointe-aux-Trembles, in the east, where it intersects with Sherbrooke Street (Que ...
during the
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
, and recounted how his family survived on "a lot of bread and molasses". He attended the from 1945 to 1949.


Career

Chagnon became an electrician like his father and began his work career by laying underground cables for the City of Montreal. He eventually started his own contracting company – E. R. Chagnon et Fils – in 1957, when he was 29. 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, 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 CF Cable TV was a Canadian cable company in the 1980s and 1990s. Owned by Jean Pouliot, a businessman in Montreal, Quebec whose holdings also included CFCF-TV"CFCF issue is proving attractive to investors". ''The Globe and Mail'', June 18, 1985. a ...
in 1997. Vidéotron was also listed on the
Montreal Exchange The Montreal Exchange (MX; ), formerly the Montreal Stock Exchange (MSE), is a derivatives exchange, located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada that trades futures contracts and option (finance), options on equities, indices, currencies, ETFs, energy and ...
in 1985, and established a branch in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
in 1988, before branching into the United States five years later. These moves led to Vidéotron becoming Canada's third-largest telecommunications company and the largest in Quebec. 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. Retiring in 2000, Chagnon set up the , an organization working to prevent
poverty Poverty is a state or condition in which an individual lacks the financial resources and essentials for a basic standard of living. Poverty can have diverse Biophysical environmen ...
and
illness A disease is a particular abnormal condition that adversely affects the structure or function (biology), function of all or part of an organism and is not immediately due to any external injury. Diseases are often known to be medical condi ...
in families, which has $1.4 billion in assets and was one of the largest foundations in Canada. He had a
net worth Net worth is the value of all the non-financial and financial assets owned by an individual or institution minus the value of all its outstanding liabilities. Financial assets minus outstanding liabilities equal net financial assets, so net w ...
of $474 million CDN in 2006.


Personal life

Chagnon was married to Lucie Dolan-Chagnon for 65 years until her death in August 2014. Together, they had five children. One of them, Christian, predeceased Chagnon. Chagnon became a vegetarian around the 1990s. Chagnon died on October 8, 2022, at age 94.


Awards and honours

Chagnon was appointed an officer of the
Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...
in October 1992 and invested six months later in April of the following year. He was inducted into the
Canadian Business Hall of Fame The Canadian Business Hall of Fame celebrates the outstanding achievements of Canada's most distinguished business leaders, past and present. Over 170 Order of the Business Hall of Fame Companions serve as inspiring examples for all young Canadians ...
in 2002. One year later, he was invested as an officer of the
National Order of Quebec The National Order of Quebec ( French: ), also known as the Order of Quebec, is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Quebec. Instituted in 1984 when Lieutenant Governor Jean-Pierre Côté granted royal assent to the (Natio ...
. He was subsequently conferred the Entrepreneur Of The Year 2005 Lifetime Achievement Award by
Ernst & Young EY, previously known as Ernst & Young, is a multinational corporation, multinational professional services partnership, network based in London, United Kingdom. Along with Deloitte, KPMG and PwC, it is one of the Big Four accounting firms, Big F ...
. Chagnon was granted
honorary An honorary position is one given as an honor, with no duties attached, and without payment. Other uses include: * Honorary Academy Award, by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, United States * Honorary Aryan, a status in Nazi Germany ...
doctorates from the
University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a Official bilingualism in Canada, bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ot ...
(2004),
McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...
(2004),
Concordia University Concordia University () is a Public university, public English-language research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College (Montreal), Loyola College and Sir George Williams Universit ...
(2004),
HEC Montréal HEC Montréal (; English: ''High Commercial Studies of Montreal'') is a bilingual public business school located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1907, HEC Montréal is the graduate business school of the Université de Montréal and is ...
(2008), and
Université Laval (; English: ''Laval University)'' is a public research university in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The university traces its roots to the Séminaire de Québec, founded by François de Montmorency-Laval in 1663, making it the oldest institutio ...
. He was made a commander of the
Order of Montreal The Order of Montreal () is a Order (distinction), municipal order awarded to residents of the city of Montreal, in the province of Quebec, Canada, since 2016. The honour succeeds the former Great Montrealer, which was conferred from 1988 to ...
in its inaugural class of 2016.


References


External links


Fondation Lucie et André Chagnon

Article at thecanadianencyclopedia.ca

Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year 2005 Lifetime Achievement award

Concordia University Honorary Degree Citation
June 2004, Concordia University Records Management and Archives {{DEFAULTSORT:Chagnon, Andre 1928 births 2022 deaths Businesspeople from Montreal Canadian billionaires Officers of the National Order of Quebec Officers of the Order of Canada Philanthropists from Quebec