Thousands of donors make possible the financing of the Pierre Lassonde pavilion

The major fundraising campaign carried out since 2010 by the MNBAQ’s Foundation, Québec City’s largest cultural philanthropy project, provided a significant part of the funding necessary to build the Pierre Lassonde pavilion. Today the ambitious goal of this part of the campaign, a total of $24.6 million, has been reached thanks to the invaluable contribution of many corporate and individual donors.

Mr. John R. Porter, Chair of the board of the MNBAQ’s Foundation and initiator of the expansion project, is delighted at this historic result, as this philanthropic undertaking was seen as an essential condition of the project from the beginning.

A major campaign for the Museum of all Quebecers

This singular approach was made possible by the activities and the support of a province-wide campaign committee made up of business people as inspiring as they are influential. The co-chairs, Pierre Lassonde, board chair, Franco-Nevada Corporation, board chair, MNBAQ, and great philanthropist, Yvon Charest, president and CEO, iA Financial group and L. Jacques Ménard, president, BMO Financial group, board chair, BMO Nesbitt Burns, were surrounded by committed honorary patrons: Laurent Beaudoin, board chair, Bombardier – André Desmarais, president and co-CEO, Power Corporation – Marcel Dutil, president and CEO, Canam Group – Louis Garneau, president, Louis Garneau Sports Inc. – Christiane Germain, co-president and CEO, Groupe Germain Hospitality – Serge Godin, executive board chair, CGI – Isabelle Hudon, president, Sunlife Financial Quebec – Monique F. Leroux, board chair and CEO, Desjardins Group – Louis Paquet, vice president, National Bank Financial – Madeleine Poliseno-Pelland, widow of the great painter Alfred Pellan – Richard J. Renaud, president and partner, Wynnchurch Capital and Louis Vachon, president and CEO, National Bank of Canada. Generous with their time, they were all able to command the attention of and bring together their business networks in favour of the major campaign.

A campaign committee was also established in Québec City to connect with and solicit the assistance of business people, donors and the great philanthropic families in the region. Chaired by Yvon Charest, the committee made up of Jean Lamy, associate at Deloitte, Louis Paquet, vice president National Bank financial, Evan Price, president, Entreprises de la batterie, René Proulx, president and CEO, Exceldor and Carl Tremblay, associate director, Norton Rose Fulbright Canada, were able to mobilize dozens of donors whose contributions are acknowledged on the Builders’ Steps on the monumental staircase in the heart of the Pierre Lassonde pavilion.

Remarkable philanthropic recognition

Just as in the largest museums in the world, the contributions of numerous donors are now acknowledged and very visible at the MNBAQ! The pavilion itself bears the name of Pierre Lassonde, a great philanthropist, lover of Québec art and one of the visionaries most convinced of the importance of offering an international-quality jewel case for the treasures of the national collection.

Many spaces of the pavilion also recognize donors: the Tempéra Québecor signed by Marie-Chantal Lepage, the temporary exhibition gallery – iA Groupe financier, the temporary exhibition gallery – BMO Groupe Financier, the reading space – Fondation Dupont, the inner courtyard – Power Corporation du Canada, the art passageway – Louis Garneau, the observation deck – CIBC, the west space – Cominar, and the relaxation area – Marie Dufour et Luc Fisette.

There is also the suspended staircase – Groupe Canam, the north space – Joan et Louis Paquet, the Brousseau Inuit art collection – Hydro Québec, the decorative arts and design gallery – SNC-Lavalin, the south space – Fondation Marcelle and Jean Coutu, the terrace – Fondation Monique and Robert Parizeau, the auditorium – Sandra and Alain Bouchard, the Riopelle Passageway by CGI, the salon – Desjardins and the meeting place – Norton Rose Fulbright.

Other names spaces also appear elsewhere in the museum complex: the atrium Banque Nationale, the terrace – Dr Marc Guérin et Louise Beaupré and the workshop – Carolyn et Richard J. Renaud. Some contributions are matched with specific projects, such as Gaz Métro with the artwork on Place du Musée, RBC’s support of the MNBAQ Actual Art Award and the Fondation J. Armand Bombardier, which contributes to the Museums’ youth camps and enables a larger number of children to take part in summer art camps.

Cultural philanthropy is everyone’s business!

This shared vision for the future of the MNBAQ earned the enthusiasm of the general public! Some 1,500 members of the Museum became Avant-Première donors, testifying to their attachment to the institution. Their names are written on a magnificent wall of recognition in the Riopelle Passageway by CGI.