Alban Perrier

Early Years and Education

Alban Perrier’s family moved to Montreal when he was 10 years old. His father, a veterinarian, had been hired as a meat inspector at Canada Packers (see Maple Leaf Foods Inc.). Alban adapted easily to his new life and to the streets of the Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie neighbourhood. This ability to adapt was frowned upon by his father, who did not approve of his son’s activities and thus decided to send him to study at the Séminaire de Saint-Jean.

Alban pursued his classical education as a boarder at the Séminaire de Saint-Jean. Teaching in the classical colleges was provided by members of the Roman Catholic clergy (see also Collège classique). Following eight years of study, he graduated in 1963 with a Bachelor of Arts from the Université de Montréal.

Young Alban then began his medical training at the Université de Montréal, graduating in 1968.

Polyclinic

Due to the introduction of the public health system in Quebec (see also Santé publique au Québec), the practice of medicine was rapidly changing in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. For the medical practitioners of the time (who had built individual practices), this change would prove determinant. The young Dr. Perrier saw it as an opportunity. Long before the creation of the Local Community Service Centres (CLSC), he was planning to open a private clinic offering both general and specialized health care.

With the help of his colleague, Dr. Pierre Vinet, Dr. Perrier conducted door to door surveys in Laval’s Duvernay neighbourhood to assess public interest in the proposed clinic. These local surveys, while lacking in the usual rigour, were sufficiently convincing that they decided to invest as much as they could in their project. With loans from the bank, as well as from relatives and friends, they opened a small clinic in 1968 in a mall on Concorde Boulevard in Laval. Over the next four years, approximately fifteen doctors joined Dr. Perrier. In 1972, the space became too cramped, and Dr. Perrier decided to build the Polyclinique Médicale Concorde. The clinic still stands on its original site and has undergone three major expansions (in 1976, 1987 and 2006).

Dr. Perrier succeeded in achieving his lifelong ambition: to create a polyclinic which has been providing state-of-the-art health care services for over 50 years. Under his leadership, the Polyclinique Médicale Concorde was the first to computerize (in 1981) and was also the first private clinic to acquire a CT scanner (in 1987).

Career Highlights

Dr. Perrier demonstrated great versatility very early in his career and has been involved in the Association des médecins omnipraticiens de Montréal (AMOM) since 1976. In 1979, his keen desire to make things happen led him to become a candidate for the position of President of the Fédération des médecins omnipraticiens du Québec (FMOQ), in order to help change the perception and improve the working conditions of general practitioners.

In addition to his professional duties as a physician and the founder and President of the Polyclinique Médicale Concorde, Dr. Perrier was an active member in a number of associations. For example, he was a member of the Conseil des médecins, dentistes et pharmaciens (CMDP) at Hôpital du Sacré-Cœur de Montréal (1968-71), as well as at Hôpital Fleury and Hôpital de la Cité-de-la-santé (1970-77). He also served as the Director of Professional Services (DPS) in the latter institution from 1989 to 2001. From 1972 to 1976, he participated in the weekly broadcast Pour vous mesdames, hosted initially by Huguette Proulx and, later, by Nicole Germain on Télé-Métropole (now TVA). From 2008 to 2009, he was also the Director of Planning in the administration of the CHUM (Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal) 2010 project.

Publication

In 2012, he collaborated with his colleague, Dr. Robert Ouellet, and author Jacques Beaulieu on a book entitled: Révolutionner les soins de santé, c’est possible ! (2012).

Awards and Honours

In September 2021, Francine Charbonneau, the Member for Mille-Îles, in the Laval region, presented Dr. Perrier with the Medal of the National Assembly.