Jean Pouliot

Jean Pouliot was a Canadian broadcasting pioneer and philanthropist who was born in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, in 1923. He was the son of mathematician Adrien Pouliot and Katharina Adler, both immigrants from Austria-Hungary. He studied electrical engineering at Université Laval and graduated in 1945. He worked as the superintendent of the Canadian Navy Laboratories until 1952, when he was hired by Famous Players Canadian Corporation to help launch television stations in Canada. He oversaw the design and launch of CKCO-TV in Kitchener, Ontario, and CFCM-TV in Quebec City, Quebec, in 1954. He became the general manager of Télévision de Québec, the owner of CFCM-TV and CKMI-TV, in 1957. He expanded the company into radio, movie production, and cable TV, and co-founded the TVA network in 1971. He also co-purchased the Canadian Arena Company, which owned the Montreal Forum and the Montreal Canadiens, and co-sponsored Hockey Night in Canada. He founded CFCF Inc. in 1979, with the purchase of CFCF-TV, CFCF-AM, and CFQR-FM from the Bronfman family. CFCF Inc. went public in 1985 and became the first publicly traded Quebec broadcasting company. It also included CF Cable TV, which Pouliot bought in 1982, and TQS, which he launched in 1986. He retired from CFCF Inc. in 1993, but remained as chairman emeritus until the company was sold to Vidéotron in 1997. He was also a pioneer of commercial aviation and organized Wings Limited, an early air charter service. He was a civic leader and a generous philanthropist, who donated nearly $300 million to various causes and institutions, especially in education, health, and culture. He established the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre at the Toronto General Hospital, the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto, and the Munk Debates. He also supported the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, the Fraser Institute, and the Royal Ontario Museum. He received numerous awards and honors for his achievements, such as the Order of Canada, the Order of Hungary, the Woodrow Wilson Award, and the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal. He was also inducted into the Canadian Business Hall of Fame and the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame. He died of natural causes in 2004 at the age of 81. He was remembered as a visionary entrepreneur, a generous benefactor, and a proud Canadian.