Year Born: 1935
Year Died: 2019
Year of Induction: 2004
Member of CAB Hall of Fame
Bureau, Andre (1935- 2019)
André Bureau came to broadcasting by way of the law.
He was born in Trois-Rivières and earned his legal qualifications at Université Laval and Paris’s Université de Droit Comparé. He entered private practice in Montreal in 1960 and in 1968 was appointed executive vice-president of Montreal’s La Presse, a major daily newspaper, which he left in 1972.
André joined Telemedia Communications, first as executive president then as president, and in 1982 was appointed president and chief executive officer of Canadian Satellite Communications (CANCOM).
In 1983 André succeeded John Meisel as chairman of the Canadian Radio-Television and Communications Commission. He left in 1989 to become president and CEO of Astral Communications Inc. and president of Astral Broadcasting Group, and subsequently chairman of Astral Media Inc., a major operator of broadcast licences, French and English specialty, pay and pay-per-view services, and advertising companies. He subsequently served on the federal Information Highway Task Force.
He served as chairman or sat on the boards of Microcell Telecommunications, AT&T Canada, TELETOON, Family Channel, Radiomédia, Viewer’s Choice Canada, Canal Indigo, MusiquePlus Inc., TV Max Plus Productions and Great Lakes Hydro Fund, among others. He was also president of the Alliance française de Montréal.
In 1993, André Bureau was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada and was also a Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et Lettres de France.
At the 2003 Canadian Association of Broacasters’ Annual Meeting, Andre Bureau was presented with the Gold Ribbon Award for excellence in Broadcasting
In 2004, Andre Bureau was inducted into the CAB Hall of Fame.
Andre Bureau died in April 2019.
Written by Ross McCreath – November, 2004