Former Desjardins president and advocate Alban D’Amours dead at 85

Alban D'amours speaks Wednesday, August 20, 2014 at the Quebec legislature in Quebec City during hearings into Bill 3, the Quebec legislation aimed at revamping pension plans. (Clement Allard/The Canadian Press)

Philanthropist and economist Alban D’Amours, who was president of Desjardins Group from 2000 to 2008, has died at the age of 85.

His family announced his death Monday, without specifying the time of death, in a social media post signed by his daughter, Sophie D’Amours, rector of Laval University.

Born in 1940 in Sainte-Françoise, in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region, Alban D’Amours began his university studies in social sciences at Laval University. He discovered economics, a path he would never leave, completing his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in this field at the Quebec City institution.

He went on to earn a doctorate in monetary theory, econometrics, and public finance at the University of Minnesota.

Professor then deputy minister

D’Amours taught economics at the University of Sherbrooke for 12 years.

He was committed to help his students develop their sense of social responsibility and community involvement.

In addition to teaching, he became department chair and helped create the Cooperative Research Institute (IRECUS).

He was then recruited as a senior civil servant by the Quebec government, becoming deputy minister of revenue and then deputy minister of energy.

Cooperativism over capitalism

D’Amours joined the Desjardins Group in 1988 as vice president before becoming president and CEO in 2000.

It was his time at this institution that led him to write the book “Cooperativism, an antidote to the excesses of capitalism: reflections rooted in my career at Desjardins.”

In it, he expressed his vision of a cooperative business model distinct from the capitalist model, where collective ownership, shared power, and people are at the forefront of a distinctive business logic based on responding to needs rather than profit.

The current president and CEO of Desjardins Group, Denis Dubois, issued a statement expressing his “deep sadness” at his passing.

“A visionary, humanist, and committed leader, he left his mark not only on our organization, but also on Quebec as a whole, through his unwavering commitment to the cooperative model and his constant dedication to the values of solidarity, equity, and responsibility,” said Dubois.

Architect of transformation

Dubois recalls that D’Amours was the architect of a “major transformation to make our large cooperative financial group more agile, more united, and better adapted to the challenges of a rapidly changing society.”

“It is to this great builder that we owe the creation of the new Fédération des caisses Desjardins du Québec and the establishment of a single management structure,” he added.

“But beyond his professional achievements,” he continues, “we remember a deeply humane man who was attentive and driven by a concern for the common good. He was strongly convinced that cooperation was one of the most powerful levers for ensuring social progress. ... He also demonstrated that performance and cooperation can not only coexist, but also reinforce each other.”

A great philanthropist

D’Amours’ philanthropic involvement in multiple causes never wavered over the years, even when he held high-level positions.

Founding president of the Centre hospitalier universitaire de Québec (CHUQ), he also chaired the board of directors of the Université de Sherbrooke. He also served on the boards of the Lucie and André Chagnon Foundation and Cominar, where he was chairman.

D’Amours also put his expertise at the service of the public, chairing government commissions and expert committees, such as the Commission on Energy, the Commission on Taxation and Public Service Financing, and the Commission on the Future of Quebec’s Retirement System.

He was a long-time member of the Board of Governors of the Quebec Philanthropic Foundation and a member of the board of directors of the Women and Democracy in Politics Group.

He was made a Grand Officer of the National Order of Quebec in 2008 and was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada in 2012.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French Nov. 10, 2025.

By Pierre Saint-Arnaud, The Canadian Press