François Labbé (September 23, 1928 – December 24, 2018) was a Canadian mass media owner who started the first commercial
French-language
French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. French evolved from Northern Old Gallo-Romance, a descendant of the Latin spoken in ...
radio network
There are two types of radio network currently in use around the world: the one-to-many (simplex communication) broadcast network commonly used for public information and mass media, mass-media entertainment, and the two-way radio (Duplex (teleco ...
in Canada, the
Réseau des Appalaches, in 1972.
[
]
Life and career
Born in Thetford Mines
Thetford Mines (; Canada 2021 Census population 26,072) is a city in south-central Quebec, Canada. It is the seat of Les Appalaches Regional County Municipality.
The city is located in the Appalachian Mountains, 187 km east-northeast of Mo ...
, Quebec
Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
on September 23, 1928, the son of former Member of Parliament and Thetford Mines mayor Tancrède Labbé, Labbé studied Commerce
Commerce is the organized Complex system, system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions that directly or indirectly contribute to the smooth, unhindered large-scale exchange (distribution through Financial transaction, transactiona ...
at Laval University
Laval means ''The Valley'' in old French and is the name of:
People
* House of Laval, a French noble family originating from the town of Laval, Mayenne
* Laval (surname)
Places Belgium
* Laval, a village in the municipality of Sainte-Ode, Luxe ...
.[ He acquired CKLD in Thetford Mines in 1959.]Victoriaville
Victoriaville () is a town in south-central Quebec, Canada, on the Nicolet River. Victoriaville is the seat of Arthabaska Regional County Municipality and a part of the Centre-du-Québec (Bois-Francs) region. It is formed by the 1993 merger of ...
.[
In 1972, he founded CKTL in Plessisville and ]CJAN {{Short description, Software module repository (2001-2004)
CJAN is an acronym standing for Comprehensive Java Archive Network. CJAN as a concept is an extension of CPAN, the Comprehensive Perl Archive Network. In 2004 the CJAN project has ceased de ...
in Asbestos
Asbestos ( ) is a group of naturally occurring, Toxicity, toxic, carcinogenic and fibrous silicate minerals. There are six types, all of which are composed of long and thin fibrous Crystal habit, crystals, each fibre (particulate with length su ...
.[ The radio stations became the Réseau des Appalaches. In 1977, Labbé founded CJLP in ]Disraeli
Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman, Conservative politician and writer who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a central role in the creat ...
, which became the sixth station in the Réseau des Appalaches.
Labbé was also the owner of Publications Appalaches, which owned two newspapers, '' La Feuille d'Érable'' in Plessisville and '' La Mine d'Information'' in Thetford Mines. He was also a director of the insurance company La Solidarité and a governor of the 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 ...
Foundation.[
In 1989, he founded ]CFJO-FM
CFJO-FM (branded as ''O97,3'') is a Canadian French, French language Canada, Canadian radio station in Thetford Mines, Quebec, which broadcasts on 97.3 FM broadcasting, FM with an effective radiated power of 100,000 watts. Its motto is "Le Meill ...
which broadcast to Thetford Mines and Victoriaville with his daughter Annie.[ In 1990, Labbé sold CKFL, CJAN and CKTL but retains ownership of other stations.
In 1998, Labbé was named to the ]Canadian Association of Broadcasters
The Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) is a trade association representing the interests of commercial radio and television broadcasters in Canada. It is co-located with the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council in Ottawa.
It was first ...
Broadcast Hall of Fame.
References
1928 births
2018 deaths
Canadian radio company founders
People from Thetford Mines
Canadian radio executives
Businesspeople from Quebec
{{Canada-business-bio-stub