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Bernard Lamarre, O.C., G.O.Q., engineer and construction contractor (born 6 August 1931 in Chicoutimi, QC; died 30 March 2016 in Montreal, QC). Lamarre is the Former President and CEO of Lavalin Inc. and advisor to SNC-Lavalin. He has been recognized as an important figure in Quebec engineering. He has received numerous awards and distinctions in recognition of his career.
Education
A 1952 engineering graduate of Montreal's École Polytechnique, Bernard Lamarre won an Athlone scholarship from the British government and studied at the Imperial College of Science and Technology and the University of London, where he received his Master of Engineering in 1955. ’
Career
In 1955, Lamarre began working at Lalonde & Valois, the parent company of the Lavalin Group. In 1962, he became an associate, and in 1972 president and Chief Executive Officer of Lavalin Inc. Therefore, Lamarre headed one of the largest engineering construction firms in the world In 1991, Lavalin Inc. became SNC-LAVALIN, and Bernard Lamarre worked as advisor to SNC-Lavalin until August 1999.
In Montreal, the Louis-Hippolyte-Lafontaine Bridge-Tunnel, the ice control structure on the Champlain Bridge, the Ville-Marie autoroute, the Charles DesBaillets water treatment plant, the tower at 1000 de la Gauchetière, and the completion of the Olympic Stadium are examples of his professional work. In Africa, the Algerian government entrusted him with numerous construction sites including the Palais de la Culture and the Sanctuaire des Martyrs. In Canada and abroad, SNC-Lavalin has built many aluminum smelters, including those in La Baie and Bécancour in Quebec, and Richards Bay in South Africa.
Lamarre has completed countless major projects in several world cities, while still finding time to promote the arts, entrepreneurship and engineering. Of note, he established the remarkable Lavalin Collection, now exhibited at the Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal. Bernard Lamarre has also devoted most of his time to a private hospital the Groupe Bellechasse Santé. He has also chaired several boards of directors, including the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec (1993-1997) and the Old Port of Montréal Corporation (1994-2007) and l'École Polytechnique in Montreal (2002-2012).
Awards and Distinctions (non-exhaustive list)
- Fellow of The Engineering Institute of Canada (1973)
- Officer of the Order of Canada (1985)
- Gold Medal of the Canadian Council of Professional Engineers (1985)
- Honorary Doctorate, Université de Montréal (1985)
- Honorary Doctorate in Law, Concordia University (1985)
- Officer of the National Order of Québec (1985)
- Honorary Doctorate, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (1987)
- Honorary Doctorate in Science, McGill University (2001)
- Grand Officer of the National Order of Québec (2013)
- Commander of the Ordre de Montréal (2016)
