Autoroute Guy-Lafleur: Quebec highway named after hockey legend

Quebec Premier Francois Legault announces Highway 50 will be named after hockey legend Guy Lafleur during an official ceremony, Thursday, May 4, 2023 in Thurso, Que. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Quebec's Highway 50 has been officially renamed after the late hockey legend Guy Lafleur.

Premier François Legault made the announcement Thursday in Thurso, Que., which is Lafleur's hometown and is one of the cities the highway passes through.

The 160-kilometre highway, now known as Autoroute Guy-Lafleur, connects Gatineau to Mirabel, a suburb northwest of Montreal.

Lafleur was laid to rest at a national funeral after passing away on April 22, 2022 at the age of 70 following a battle with lung cancer. Thousands of people gathered at the Montreal ceremony to pay their respects to the Montreal Canadiens icon who remains the team's all-time scoring leader.

Members of Lafleur's family and were present for Thursday's announcement by the premier, who praised the hockey icon, calling him "an accessible man, a generous man, a humble man, down-to-earth" who was "proud to say he was born in Thurso."

Legault told the crowd that asked Lafleur to autograph a jersey for each of the provincial premiers in 2020.

"When I visit the offices of different premiers of the different provinces, it's remarkable. Guy Lafleur's jersey is in the office of each premier and they tell me, 'it's the nicest gift I've ever received in my life.'"

Highway 50 is the third-longest highway named after a person in Quebec, but the only one named after an athlete.

Lafleur was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1988 and was appointed to the Order of Canada in 1980.