The Pointe-à-Callière Foundation raises $13 million in its first major fundraising campaign

For immediate release

The co-chairs, however, do not want the Foundation to stop there, and hope it will continue its fundraising efforts to benefit the Montréal Archaeology and History Complex.

“I would like to acknowledge the exceptional support of Hydro-Québec, which contributed $2 million, as well as the great generosity of the National Bank, the J. Armand Bombardier Foundation, the Wilson Foundation, and Québecor, which each donated over a million dollars to the campaign. Power Corporation, for its part, made a $500,000 donation. I thank them most sincerely, just as I express my gratitude to all of our donors for their support, which is essential to the Museum’s mission and its big project: the inauguration, in 2017, of Fort Ville-Marie and the continued development of the Montréal Archaeology and History Complex. All have shown great generosity in these times of austerity,” stated David McAusland.

“This campaign supports the Foundation’s work and the Museum’s projects, helping to leverage the development of the Montréal Archaeology and History Complex. With this initiative, the last major historical sites in Old Montréal will be preserved and made accessible to visitors,” added Louis Vachon.

“We would not have been able to reach our goal, much less exceed it, were it not for the campaign cabinet, chaired by Messrs. Vachon and McAusland. The members of the cabinet showed great tenacity in pursuing their goal,” said the Chair of the Foundation’s board of directors, Russell Goodman. The list of cabinet members is also attached.

In attendance at a cocktail reception for the announcement of the campaign results were the members of the board of directors of the Foundation and the Museum, the Museum administration, and the campaign cabinet, as well as representatives of principal donors, personalities from various milieus, and members of the media.

The Museum welcomes 400,000 visitors each year, including about 100,000 young people. The Complex will allow a little over half a million people to explore the city’s history, notably while treading the very soil where Paul Chomedey de Maisonneuve and Jeanne Mance founded Montréal.

“Pointe-à-Callière has become an essential Museum for understanding and explaining Montréal. Visitors from Canada, the United States, and other parts of the world make up over 40% of the Museum’s attendance. Over the years, millions of tourists have been able to learn about our values and our way of life, going on to become our best ambassadors. The impact on the renown of our city, our province, and our country has been invaluable,” noted Andrew Molson, Chair of the Museum’s board of directors.

Pointe-à-Callière has been present as an institution in Old Montréal since 1992. Offering national and international exhibitions, as well as high-quality educational and cultural activities, the Museum gives us a better understanding and appreciation of our past, thereby helping us better understand the present and be well prepared for the future. “The funds raised through the Foundation’s major campaign will support the development of the Complex, and allow the Museum to develop educational projects and preserve significant heritage objects and archaeological remains of Montréal’s history. All of this is part of the development a unique project: the Montréal Archaeology and History Complex, for the 375th anniversary of Montréal and for the years to come,” mentioned the Museum’s Executive Director, Francine Lelièvre.

The Montréal Archaeology and History Complex
The Montréal Archaeology and History Complex is the most important of all the Museum’s development initiatives. With this project, the remains of Fort Ville-Marie (1642) and Callière's residence (1695)—linked underground by an accessible 100-metre stretch of the canalized river that became the William collector sewer (1832)—will be preserved and developed as part of the 375th anniversary of Montréal, with the opening of a new building on May 17, 2017.

Following in the years to come will be the development of the remains of St. Ann's Market (1832), which became the first permanent Parliament of the United Province of Canada (1844), a new building on Place D'Youville, and the addition of new rooms for temporary exhibitions; all of these sites will be linked underground by the canalized river over a distance of 375 metres, and on the surface by urban gardens. When complete, the Complex will offer a captivating experience at the heart of the city’s history. The Museum is a unique complex made up of the following buildings: the Éperon, the Museum’s main building; the archaeological crypt in Place Royale; the Mariners’ House – National Bank Building; the Ancienne-Douane – J. Armand Bombardier Foundation Building; the Youville Pumping Station; and, in 2017, the Fort Ville-Marie – Québecor Building.

About the Pointe-à-Callière Foundation
Created in 1993, the Foundation works to support the development of Pointe-à-Callière. Since its very beginnings, it has contributed to all of Pointe-à-Callière’s large-scale projects, including the preservation of the archaeological remains of Montréal’s birthplace, the creation of the Archaeological Field School at the birthplace of Montréal, the renewal of multimedia shows—the most recent of which, on the history of Montréal, was produced by Moment Factory—, the presentation of major international exhibitions, the restoration of the Youville Pumping Station, and the acquisition and refurbishment of the Mariners’ House.

-30-

Source :
Annie Boisclair
Foundation Director
[email protected] 514 872-9058

CAMPAIGN CABINET
Co-Chairs :
• David McAusland – Associé, McCarthy Tétrault
• Louis Vachon – Président et chef de la direction, Banque Nationale

Members :
• Normand Bergeron – Conseiller à la direction, Deloitte
• Yves Bonin, Associé – PricewaterhouseCoopers
• Sophie Brochu – Présidente et chef de la direction, Gaz Métro
• James C. Cherry – Président et chef de la direction, Aéroports de Montréal
• Jean-Philippe Côté† – Directeur, BCP
• Daniel Desjardins – Vice-président principal, Affaires juridiques et Secrétaire de la Société, Bombardier
• Jean Pierre Desrosiers – Associé et conseiller stratégique, Fasken Martineau
• Paule Doré – Administratrice de sociétés
• Gaétan Frigon – Président, Publipage
• Robert Y. Girard – Associé, Fasken Martineau
• Russell Goodman – Président du CA de la Fondation Pointe-à-Callière
• Pierre Hébert – Associé, Norton Rose Fulbright
• John LeBoutillier – Président du conseil, Industrielle Alliance
• Robert Paré – Associé, Fasken Martineau
• Maxime Rémillard – Président et chef de la direction, V Télé