Gérard Filion

Who was Gérard Filion?

Gérard Filion, CC GOQ MSRC was a Canadian businessman and journalist.

Born in L'Isle-Verte, Quebec, the youngest of 17 children, he received a Bachelor of Arts from Université Laval in 1931 and a diploma in 1934 from École des Hautes Études Commerciales de Montréal. From 1935 until 1947 he worked for the l'Union catholique des cultivateurs, a group representing farmers. From 1947 until 1963 he was the publisher of Le Devoir, a French-language newspaper published in Montreal. He was one of the most vocal critics of Maurice Duplessis's government.

He was Mayor of Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville from 1960-1968.

In 1970 he was made a Companion of the Order of Canada. In 1989 he was made a Grand Officer of the National Order of Quebec.

He was married to Françoise Servêtre and had nine children.