Keywords Born in 1927 Business Leaders

After living and working in Ottawa as owner-manager of Gatineau Bus Lines in the late 1950s, Desmarais operated Quebec Autobus and moved his family to Montréal in the early 1960s. In 1961 he bought Provincial Transport, a sizable passenger-transport company based in Québec, followed by Gelco Enterprises (originally Gatineau Electric Co.) in 1964. In 1965 he bought Trans-Canada Corp Fund (TCCF), his first conglomerate, through which he gained control of the La Presse (Montréal), the major French-language newspaper, as well as of CKAC, the major francophone radio station; Imperial Life, Toronto, a large assurance company; and several daily and weekly newspapers.

In 1968 Demarais took control of POWER CORP OF CANADA through TCTF and was chairman and CEO until 1996 when his sons Paul Jr. and André took over and were appointed co-chief executive officers. Since 1996, Paul Sr. has been chairman of the executive committee of Power Corp. One of the major conglomerates in Canada, Power Corp's principal subsidiaries now include Gesca Ltd. (publisher of daily and weekly newspapers) and Power Financial Corporation (owner of Great West Life, London Life, Canada Life, Putnam Investments, IGM Financial, Investors Group, Mackenzie). Power Corporation is also an important shareholder and has major financial interests in European holdings, many of whom are global leaders, such as Pargesa Holding S.A., an international investment group based in Geneva, Switzerland. The Pargesa Group controls Imerys S.A. (a mineral processor) and has stakes in large companies involved in energy (Total S.A.), utilities (GDF Suez S.A.), construction (Lafarge S.A.), wines and spirits (Pernod Ricard S.A.) and other sectors in Europe through a controlling stake in Groupe Bruxelles Lambert S.A.

In 2010 Desmarais sat on the boards of several companies - most linked to Power Corp. - as well as Groupe Bruxelles Lambert S.A. He is founding chairman and honorary president of the Canada-China Business Council and chairman of the board and managing director of Pargesa Holding S.A.

Paul Desmarais is one of the 10 richest persons in Canada and is considered to be one of the country's most powerful men. He owns a 75-square-kilometre estate in Sagard, Québec, a French Canadian hamlet of 260 people located in the Charlevoix region. In 2005, Desmarais built the people of Sagard a yellow, wooden Roman Catholic church. He has served on the Canadian advisory board of the Carlyle Group, a US-based global private equity investment firm, and his sons Paul Jr. and André have links with the Bilderberg Group conferences (annual, unofficial, invitation-only conferences of selected VIP guests - global power brokers with far-reaching influence in the fields of politics, banking, business, the military and media) and the Trilateral Commission (a private organization that fosters close cooperation between the United States, Canada and Japan).

Desmarais has been awarded numerous decorations and was appointed to orders of merit from Canada, France and Belgium. He was made a Grand Montréalais (1984), a Companion of the Order of Canada (1987), an Officer of the Ordre national du Québec (1988), a Commander of the Ordre de Léopold II (1991) and Grand'Croix of the Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur (2008). In 1992, he became a member of the Privy Council of Canada. In 2007, he was the recipient of the University of Ottawa's Distinguished Canadian Leadership Award. A dozen Canadian universities have bestowed Mr. Desmarais with honorary degrees.

A well-known philanthropist, Paul Desmarais' most notable philanthropies in Canada include the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts' Jean-Noël Desmarais Pavilion (1991), the Université de Montréal's Pavillon Paul-G.- Desmarais (1996) and the University of Ottawa's Pavillon Desmarais Building (2007).

Author JEAN YVES PELLETIER

Suggested Reading
D. Greber, Rising to Power (1987).

Links to Other Sites
Power Corporation of Canada
The Power Corporation of Canada is a leading management and holding company with interests in financial services, communications and other sectors. This website features a corporate history, investor information and an overview of its diverse operations in Canada and around the world.