Louis Lagassé is a Canadian businessman, notary, investor, and philanthropist. In 2004, he was made a member 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 1995, he founded the JA Louis Lagassé Foundation, to promote and develop the arts, music, philanthropy, science and culture in the

Eastern Townships The Eastern Townships (, ) is a historical administrative region in southeastern Quebec, Canada. It lies between the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Lowlands, St. Lawrence Lowlands and the American border, and extends from Granby, Quebec, Granby in ...

. As of October 4, 2024, the foundation reported $1,000 in revenue and $941 in expenses, and no longer produces

financial information Finance refers to monetary resources and to the study and discipline of money, currency, assets and liabilities. As a subject of study, is a field of Business Administration wich study the planning, organizing, leading, and controlling of an o ...

. Lagassé received the Merit Estrien in 2008. He received the Gold Medal of the Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II in 2002, the Medal for the 125th Anniversary of Canada (2000), Medal of Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee (2012), Medal of Honor of the House of Notaires (2011). He also invested in several projects, including the acquisition of the Granada Theatre in

Sherbrooke Sherbrooke ( , ) is a city in southern Quebec, Canada. It is at the confluence of the Saint-François River, Saint-François and Magog River, Magog rivers in the heart of the Estrie administrative region. Sherbrooke is also the name of a territ ...

. In January 2020, he was sentenced to three years of prison in France and a fine of 375,000 euros for carrying out numerous "cash grabs". On July 23, 2024, the Dobson-Lagassé Centre for Entrepreneurship, which he co-founded in 1995, fully incorporated into

Bishop's University Bishop's University () is a small English-language Liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Lennoxville, a borough of Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. The founder of the institution was the Anglican Diocese of Quebec, Anglican Bishop of Quebec ...

. The centre is "still considering" whether to keep the Lagassé name because of the businessman's legal troubles.

Education and early career

Lagassé received a Bachelor of Arts from Jean-de-Brébeuf College in 1967. He attended the

University of Salzburg The University of Salzburg (, ), also known as the Paris Lodron University of Salzburg (''Paris-Lodron-Universität Salzburg'', PLUS), is an Austrian public university in Salzburg, Salzburg municipality, Salzburg (federal state), Salzburg State, ...

in Austria and obtained a Diploma in Languages. In 1970, he attended the

University of Montreal A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...

, where he obtained an

LL.B. A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

and earned an MBA from The

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO; branded as Western University) is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by residential neighbourhoods and the Thame ...

in 1973. In 1975, he joined his father, Jacques Lagassé, as a partner in the family notary company. In 1998, he obtained an honorary degree from the

University of Sherbrooke A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...

Biography

Lagassé taught as a visiting professor at the Faculty of Law of the

from 1975 to 1977. He gave several lectures to the Chamber of Notaries of Quebec. In October 2011, Le Groupe Lagassé, led by Lagassé, experienced financial difficulties. The Superior Court of Quebec ordered Le Groupe Lagassé Inc. and Louis Lagassé to repay loans totaling nearly $CAD 1.8 million to the Business Development

Bank of Canada The Bank of Canada (BoC; ) is a Crown corporations of Canada, Crown corporation and Canada's central bank. Chartered in 1934 under the ''Bank of Canada Act'', it is responsible for formulating Canada's monetary policy,OECD. OECD Economic Surve ...

, following the bankruptcy of SR Télécom, a subsidiary of the group. In addition, other lawsuits had been filed, including a claim by the Commission des normes du travail du Québec and unpaid fees to the law firm Stikeman Elliott. In December 2011, Lagassé Communication et Industries (LC&I), a subsidiary of Groupe Lagassé in France, was placed in receivership by the Quimper Commercial Court. Lagassé lost control of the company located in

Douarnenez Douarnenez (, ; meaning ''douar'' (land) ''an enez'' (the island) or land of the island), is a commune in the French department of Finistère, region of Brittany, northwestern France. It is located at the mouth of the Pouldavid River, an estua ...

, and two new directors were appointed to manage the 225 employees. The Works Council expressed concerns about financial management and hired lawyers to investigate the company's finances. In 2014, Lagassé was indicted in France for misuse of corporate assets, bankruptcy, and embezzlement. Accused of embezzling €30 million from his telecommunications company, EADS, purchased in 2005, bail was set at €1 million. He was forced to resign from the board of directors of Hydro Québec. The Lagassé Group was ordered by the Superior Court to pay $CAD 1.6 million to the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) in 2011. The BDC had granted a loan to one of its subsidiaries three years earlier, but it was another company in the group that recovered the funds. Lagassé was ordered to pay the BDC $CAD 188,034, personally.

References

External links

Personal website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lagassé, Louis Members of the Order of Canada 1947 births Living people Businesspeople from Sherbrooke