Great Builder of Quebec Engineer Armand Couture dies aged

Great Builder of Quebec | Engineer Armand Couture dies aged 91 –

(Quebec) One of the great builders of Quebec is no more. Engineer Armand Couture died Thursday at the age of 91, his family said in a statement Saturday morning.

Posted at 11:48 am

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Armand Couture was a member of the executive board of the company Lalonde Valois Lamarre Valois et Associés, which became Lavalin, then SNC-Lavalin (1968-1991).

In his young engineering career, he was the principal designer of the Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine Bridge Tunnel, inaugurated on March 11, 1967 by Prime Minister Daniel Johnson and his predecessor Jean Lesage, who initiated the project, and the then Mayor of Montreal, Jean Drapeau.

Armand Couture is considered a pioneer in his field. He was involved in the international sale of the first major Quebec engineering contracts.

He also served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Hydro-Québec from 1992 to 1996.

His name is closely associated with the construction and management of the hydroelectric power stations at James Bay. He had also been appointed chairman of the board of the Société d’énergie de la Baie-James, whose representative he represented during the negotiations for the James Bay and Northern Quebec Accords and during numerous other accords with the natives of Quebec.

Armand Couture was appointed Officer of the National Order of Quebec in 1999.

He was also appointed a Member of the Order of Canada in 2001 and a Grand Builder of the Polytechnique Alumni Association in 2006.

Armand Couture has served on the boards of several public organizations and companies. From 1998 to 2012 he was notably Chairman of the Board of the National Institute of Scientific Research (NRS) in Quebec.

He leaves behind three children, Luc, Denise and Benoit, as well as numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.