About

History

Founded in 1998, the Fondation de la Chenelière is the result of an initiative begun by employees of the Chenelière Éducation publishing house with the annual distribution of Christmas baskets in Montreal’s Little Italy neighbourhood. The publishing house’s offices were located at the corner of Saint-Laurent Boulevard and Mozart Street.

Chenelière Éducation, a publisher of school and university textbooks called Little Italy home for over 20 years, and it’s more than 200 employees participated fully in the life of the neighbourhood

The Fondation’s original objective was very modest, consisting of providing a local school with the financial support to encourage and motivate students.
The Fondation was later able to provide regular support to four schools:

  • Notre-Dame de la Défense
  • Saint-Jean de la Croix
  • Saint-Ambroise
  • Saint-Arsène

At that time, the Fondation distributed over $250,000 thanks to the generous contributions of the publishing house, its employees, freelancers, and suppliers. Fundraising activities, such as garage sales, raffles, and shows, were also successful.

Since 2006, Chenelière Éducation has continued its publishing activities within the Transcontinental Books Group.

Michel de la Chenelière, Founding President

A leading figure in Quebec publishing and a philanthropist, Michel de la Chenelière is the founder of Éditions de la Chenelière, now known as Chenelière Éducation, a pioneering publisher of French-language textbooks for school and university students in North America.

Thanks to its founder’s keen business acumen and great passion, the company, founded in 1984, has become the largest French-language educational publisher in North America.

Since the sale of Chenelière Éducation, he has focused on his philanthropic activities. He is part of a new wave of philanthropists essential to the arts and culture community and supports the fields of education and the arts. A dedicated volunteer and enthusiastic ambassador, Michel de la Chenelière supports several cultural organizations and international educational initiatives.

In 2018, Michel de la Chenelière was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada. He is also a Knight of the National Order of Quebec (2017), the Order of Montreal (2017), and the Order of Arts and Letters of the French Republic (2017). He is the recipient of the Camille-Laurin Prize from the Office québécois de la langue française (2016) and the Canadian Museums Association’s Award for Excellence in Philanthropy (2018).In 2012, he received the Business Volunteer Award (CCMM-CAM). In 2019, he was awarded an honorary doctorate of letters from McGill University.