These famous figures from various fields in Quebec passed away in 2025

Among those famous Quebecers who passed away in 2025 were astronaut and politician Marc Garneau, musician Serge Fiori and Habs legend and politician Ken Dryden. (Chris O'Meara, Graham Hughes/ The Canadian Press)

Several prominent figures died in 2025.

Here is a list of them:

Politics

Jean Campeau, died on Feb. 26 at the age of 93

This financial expert became a politician late in life in the wake of the failure of the Meech Lake Accord in the early 1990s. After working for several years in the private sector, he joined the Quebec civil service and was appointed debt management director from 1971 to 1977 at the Finance Ministry, where he reorganized the borrowing of CEGEPs, hospitals, and universities. He then became the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec board of directors chairman. He then co-chaired, with Michel Bélanger, the Bélanger-Campeau Commission, whose mandate was to “study and analyze the political and constitutional status of Quebec and to formulate recommendations in this regard,” following the failure of the Meech Lake Accord. Recruited by the Parti Québécois, he was elected in the Crémazie riding and appointed Finance Minister, then Minister of Transport.

Marc Garneau, who died on June 4 at the age of 76

A graduate in engineering physics from the Royal Military College in Kingston, Garneau made history in 1984 by becoming the first Canadian to go into space as a payload specialist aboard the space shuttle Challenger. He returned to space twice more, in 1996 and 2000, before becoming president of the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) from 2001 to 2005. He left this field to enter politics. He was first elected in 2008 as the Liberal Member of Parliament for the Montreal riding of Westmount—Ville-Marie. He considered running for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada before giving his support to Justin Trudeau. After the Liberals came to power, he headed the Transport Department for five years before briefly serving as Minister of Foreign Affairs. He left politics in 2023.

Lise Bacon, who died on Oct. 29 at the age of 91

Lise Bacon was one of the great pioneers of Quebec and Canadian politics. In 1973, she became the second woman to be elected to the National Assembly after Claire Kirkland-Casgrain. She had previously been the first woman to chair a political party in Canada, the Quebec Liberal Party (PLQ), from 1970 to 1973. Robert Bourassa appointed her Minister of State for Social Affairs and to various other ministerial posts until his defeat in the 1976 election. Re-elected in 1981, then in 1985 and 1989, she became Quebec’s first female deputy premier in 1985, a position she held until 1994. She also held various ministerial positions. After her resignation in January 1994, she was appointed senator by Jean Chrétien, a position she held until her mandatory retirement in 2009.

In Canada: Gilbert Normand (Jan. 1); Thérèse Paquet-Sévigny (March 16); Ed Lumley (April 16 ) Charles Mayer (April 29); John McCallum (June 21); Michel Gratton (Aug. 3); Marcel Gagnon (Aug. 12); Rodrigue Biron (Aug. 12); Guy Rivard (Aug. 14); Gail Shea (Aug. 21); Donald Oliver (Sept. 16); Gabriel Loubier (Oct. 1); Ellie Fallu (Oct. 14); Jean-Paul Diamond (Nov. 6); Claude Boucher (Dec, 5);

Abroad: Jean-Marie Le Pen (Jan. 7); Vitold Fokine (March 20); Oleg Gordievsky (March 21); Abdullah Ahmad Badawi (April 14); Pope Francis (April 21); Tran Duc Luơng (May 20); Muhammadu Buhari (July 13); Ion Iliescu (Aug. 5); Dick Cheney (Nov. 3);

Business

Philippe de Gaspé Beaubien, died on April 9 at the age of 97

Quebec entrepreneur and philanthropist Philippe de Gaspé Beaubien was director of operations for the 1967 Montreal World’s Fair. At the time, he was nicknamed the “mayor of the Expo”. The following year, he took over as head of Télémédia. He ran the company until the early 2000s, when it owned 26 radio stations, 17 magazines and 24 weekly newspapers across Canada, before these assets were sold to other players. In 1990, the entrepreneur and his wife, Nan-B O’Connell, created the Gaspé Beaubien Foundation, which supports water conservation, entrepreneurship and community development.

Alban D’Amours, who died on Nov. 9 at the age of 85

Born in 1940 in Sainte-Françoise, in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region, D’Amours began his university studies in social sciences at Laval University, where he discovered economics. After a stint at the University of Sherbrooke, where he taught for 12 years, he became Deputy Minister of Revenue and then Deputy Minister of Energy in Quebec City. He then joined the Desjardins Group as Vice-President in 1988 before being promoted to President and Chief Executive Officer in 2000. He has always defended his vision of a cooperative business model distinct from the capitalist model. Founding president of the Centre hospitalier universitaire de Québec (CHUQ), he also chaired the board of directors of the University of Sherbrooke. He also sat on the board of the Lucie and André Chagnon Foundation and Cominar, where he served as chairman.

In Canada: Pierre Roy (March 16); Raymond Royer (April 24); Serge Saucier (May); Francesco Bellini (July 10); Hilary Weston (Aug. 2); Nigel S. Wright (Sept. 1); Al Floyd (Sept. 2); Bruce Saville (Oct. 13);

Abroad: Bernard Mourad (Jan. 9); Aga Khan (Feb. 4) ; Ginette Moulin (Feb. 9); Lee Shau-kee (March 17): Robert Shapiro (May 2); Hervé de La Martinière (May 8); Philippe Louis-Dreyfus (June 17); Philippe Mellier (July 8); Loïk Le Floch-Prigent (July 16); Francesco Trapani (Sept. 10); Claude Bébéar (Nov. 1); Louis Schweitzer (Nov. 6);

Social, scientific and journalistic circles

Pierre Foglia, who died on July 29 at the age of 84

Foglia was a journalist who wrote more than 4,000 columns for the daily newspaper La Presse between 1978 and 2015. The son of Italian immigrants to France, he moved to Montreal in the 1960s. He worked as a typographer before becoming a journalist in Sherbrooke and Chicoutimi, and was then recruited by La Patrie and Montréal-Matin. He moved to La Presse in November 1972. A skilled storyteller with a keen eye for the people around him, he commented on current events and social issues in the Montreal daily, attracting many loyal readers each week who were touched by his style and originality. A cycling enthusiast, Foglia covered the Tour de France eight times between 1992 and 2003. His stories and profiles were compiled in an illustrated book entitled Le Tour de Foglia et chroniques françaises. In February 2015, Pierre Foglia announced his retirement.

Guy Rocher, who died on Sept. 3 at the age of 101

Rocher was one of the great builders of modern Quebec. He helped create the Ministry of Education in the early 1960s and drafted the Charter of the French Language, commonly known as “Bill 101”, in the late 1970s. Born in Berthierville on April 20, 1924, he obtained a master’s degree in sociology from Laval University and a doctorate from Harvard University. At the beginning of his teaching career, he was appointed a member of the Parent Commission by Paul Gérin-Lajoie, then a minister in Jean Lesage’s Liberal government. He was also director of the School of Social Work at Laval University, vice-dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Montreal, and associate researcher at the Centre for Public Law Research at the University of Montreal. He also served as associate secretary general of the Executive Council of the Government of Quebec.

In Canada: Bernard Saladin d’Anglure (Feb. 13); Jean-Denis Gendron (Feb. 16); Pierre Daloze (March 4); Jean O’Neil (March 22); Camille Dubé (April 4); Louise Trottier (May 9); René Simard (May 21); Bruno Roy (June 2); Gerald La Forest (June 12); Raymond Laflamme (June 19); Jacques Beaudoin (July 26); Léandre Bergeron (July 31); Maurice McGregor (Aug. 4); Andrée Yanacopoulo (Aug. 27); Louis Sabourin (Sept. 11); Leo Girard (Sept. 21); Balfour Mount (Sept. 25); Denis Trudeau (Oct. 6); Gisèle Galichan (Oct. 7); Jean-Luc Migué (Oct. 11); Bertrand Blanchet (Oct. 23): Elaine Hémond (Oct. 27); Pierre Dufault (Oct. 31); Tim Cook (Oct. 26); Michel Robert (Nov. 18); Madeleine Poulin (Nov. 22); Frank Ghery (Dec. 5); Jacques Nadeau (Dec. 10); Falah Maroun (Dec. 19)

Abroad: Claude Allègre (Jan. 5); Jean-François Kahn (Jan. 22); Elisabeth Vrba (Feb. 5); Robert I. Moore (Feb. 5); Martin Aurell (Feb. 8); Jerry Ostriker (April 6); Svetlana Guérassimenko (April 8); Robert Jarvik (May 26); Pierre Nora (June 2); Bill Atkinson (June 5); Bernard Cassen (June 12); Ivar Giaever (June 20); Jean-Pierre Azéma (May 14); James Lowell (Aug. 7); Jane Goodall (Oct. 1); James Dewey Watson (Nov. 6); Jean Benoist (Nov. 11); Michèle Audin (Nov. 14);

Cultural milieu

Antonine Maillet, who died on Feb. 17 at the age of 95

A native of Bouctouche, New Brunswick, the writer became the first Canadian to receive the prestigious Prix Goncourt in 1979 for her novel Pélagie-la-Charette. After completing her university studies, she pursued careers as a teacher and writer, in addition to working as a host and scriptwriter for Radio-Canada and CBC in Moncton. A prolific author, Maillet wrote more than 12 plays and over 20 novels. Her play La Sagouine, first performed in 1971 by Viola Léger, was a huge success. In 1989, she became the first woman to hold the position of Chancellor of the University of Moncton, a role she held until 2000.

Victor Lévy-Beaulieu, who died on June 9 at the age of 79

Lévy-Beaulieu was a jack of all trades when it came to writing. Over the years, he wrote novels, plays, poetry, reports and screenplays. A prolific writer, his many works include Ma vie avec ces animaux qui guérissent (My Life with These Animals that Heal), La nuitte de Malcomm Hudd (The Night of Malcomm Hudd), Manuel de la petite littérature du Québec (Manual of Quebec Literature) and Race de monde (Race of the World). His work was recognized with the Gilles-Corbeil Prize from the Émile-Nelligan Foundation for his entire body of work, adding to his collection of awards, which includes the Governor General’s Award, the Prix Québec-Paris, several Gémeaux Awards and the title of Companion of the Ordre des arts et des lettres du Québec.

Serge Fiori, who died on June 24 at the age of 73

Born in Montreal in 1952, Fiori was immersed in music from a young age, as his father was the leader of a dance band. Co-founder of the legendary band Harmonium, his musical career took off following the release of the eponymous album. The band recorded two other albums, both of which became classics: Si on avait besoin d’une cinquième saison, ranked among the 50 best progressive rock albums by Rolling Stone magazine, and L’Heptade. In 1978, he also collaborated with Richard Séguin on the album Deux cents nuits à l’heure, which received numerous awards at the very first ADISQ gala held the following year. The singer-songwriter’s career has been marked by several breaks and comebacks, releasing albums in 1986 and 2014 while collaborating on several projects. In particular, he wrote the music for the theme song of the Just for Laughs festival.

In Canada: Julien Poulin (Jan. 4); Kim Yaroshevskaya (Jan. 12); Stéphane Venne (Jan. 17); Monique Chabot (Jan. 23); Bernard Lagacé (Feb. 11); Hélène Pelletier-Baillargeon (Feb. 14); Denise Boucher (March 18); Renée Chevalier (March 20); Jean-Claude Germain (April 24); Serge Mongeau (May 9); François Barcelo (May 25); Co Hoedeman (May 26); Claude Poissant (June 6); Harry Standjofski (July 18); Jean-Paul Guimond (July 24); Jacques Poulain (Aug. 21); Germain Gauthier (Aug. 29); René Homier-Roy (Sept. 14); Julie Stanton (Oct. 29); Guy Cogeval (Nov. 13); Jean-Louis Trudel (Nov. 17); Béatrice Picard (Dec. 9); Richard Grégoire (Dec. 10);

Abroad: David Lodge (Jan. 1); David Lynch (Jan. 16); Bertrand Blier (Jan. 20); Gabriel Yacoub (Jan. 22); Marianne Faithfull (Jan. 30); Mike Ratledge (Feb. 5); Geneviève Page (Feb. 14); Gene Hackman (Feb. 17); Frankétienne (Feb. 20); Roberta Flack (Feb. 24); Angie Stone (March 1); Hebert Léonard (March 2); Roy Ayers (March 4); Émilie Dequenne (March 16); Val Kilmer (April 1); Mario Vargas Llosa (April 13); Werenoi (May 17); Nicole Croisille (June 4); Sly Stone (June 9); Brian Wilson (June 11); Alfred Brendel (June 17); Lea Massari (June 23); Lalo Schifrin (June 26); Michael Madsen (July 3); Thierry Ardisson (May 14); Connie Francis (July 16); Paul Day (July 29); Rick Davies (Sept. 6); Robert Ranford (Sept. 16); Claudia Cardinale (Sept. 23); Diane Keaton (Oct. 11); Ace Frehley (Oct. 16); Jack DeJohnette (Oct. 26); Jimmy Cliff (Nov. 24); Rob Reiner (Dec. 14); Brigitte Bardot (Dec. 28)

Sports

Réjean Lacoursière, died on May 9 at the age of 90

Inducted into the Quebec Sports Hall of Fame in 2010, this open water swimming specialist participated in the Traversée du Lac-St-Jean 15 times, even winning the event in 1960. The previous year, he was crowned world champion in the 42 km marathon held in Guaymas, Mexico. The swimmer also took top honours three times at the 24 Heures de La Tuque. In 1978, he was elected to the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame. He created a new method for teaching babies and children to swim, founding a school that bears his name.

Ron Turcotte, who died on Aug. 22 at the age of 84

A native of Drummond, New Brunswick, Turcotte owes his fame to the fact that he was riding Secretariat when the horse won the Triple Crown in 1973, the first in 25 years. The previous year, he had come close to achieving the feat, winning the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes, but failing at the Preakness. He began his career racing at the Blue Bonnet Park racetrack in Montreal before moving to the United States. He made a name for himself there in 1965 by riding Tom Rolve to victory in the Preakness Stakes. He won more than 3,000 races in a career spanning nearly 20 years. His career ended when he fell from his horse at the start of a race and suffered injuries that left him paraplegic. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1979.

Ken Dryden, who died on Sept. 5 at the age of 78

Born on Aug. 8, 1947, in Hamilton, Ontario, Dryden made his NHL debut with the Habs in 1971, playing six regular-season games and winning all of them. An unexpected choice by head coach Al MacNeil to start the playoffs in the spring of 1971, he led his team to the Stanley Cup, also winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in the playoffs. The following year, he was voted the NHL’s Rookie of the Year. He added five Stanley Cups to his list of achievements, for a total of six in the 1970s. He was Canada’s goalie in the eighth and decisive game of the 1972 Summit Series. He retired in 1979 and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1983. After making the leap to federal politics, he was appointed Minister of Social Development by Paul Martin, a position he held until February 2006.

Guy Chouinard, died on Dec. 28 at the age of 69

Born on Oct. 20, 1956, in Quebec City, hockey player and coach Guy Chouinard had a remarkable career in the QMJHL and the NHL. In junior hockey, he won two President’s Cups as a player with the Quebec Remparts in 1972-73 and 1973-74. Chouinard was then drafted by the Atlanta Flames in the 1974 draft. He played eight full seasons in the NHL with Atlanta, Calgary, and the St. Louis Blues. After his playing career, Chouinard became a coach in the QMJHL. He won the President’s Cup with the Longueuil Chevaliers in 1987. He was inducted into the QMJHL Hall of Fame in 2005.

In Canada: Marcel Bonin (Jan. 19); Jerome Drayton (Feb. 10); Greg Millen (April 7); Phil Roberto (April 30); Charles Thiffault (May 18); Alex Delvecchio (July 1); Wayne Thomas (July 16); Ed Giacomin (Sept. 14); Jean Grenier (Sept. 20); Bernard Parent (Sept. 21); Mel Bridgman (Nov. 6); Tim Hackness (Nov. 30); Robert Rousseau (Dec. 13);

Overseas: Bob Uecker (Jan. 16); Dennis Law (Jan. 17); Jeff Torborn (Jan. 19); Fay Vincent (Feb. 1); Boris Spassky (Feb. 27); George Foreman (March 21); Ray Shero (April 9); Jim Marshall (June 3); Dave Parker (June 28); Hulk Hogan (July 24); Ryne Sandberg (July 28); Angela Mortimer (Aug. 25); Davey Johnson (Sept. 5); Doug Martin (Oct. 18); Marshawn Kneeland (Nov. 5); Paul Tagliabue (Nov. 9); Fuzzy Zoeller (Nov. 27).

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Jan. 1, 2026.