He was born in Saint-Boniface in 1934 and died in Toronto on Tuesday morning at the age of 88.

Mr. Desautel has donated tens of millions of dollars to several post-secondary institutions in Canada, including the University of Manitoba, Université de Saint-Boniface (USB), the University of Toronto and McGill University. Various faculties and scholarships bear his name.

The philanthropist studied at the Collège universitaire de Saint-Boniface (as the former name of theUSB) from 1947 to 1955 before receiving his master’s degree in law from the University of Manitoba.

In 2009 he was a major donor and President of VISION, the largest fundraiser in the history of the Université de Saint-Boniface, aiming to raise $15 million. A pavilion, inaugurated in 2011,The USB also bears his name and houses the Health Sciences programs and School of Social Work.

In a statement released Tuesday, the University of Manitoba recalled that it donated $20 million to its music department in 2008, the largest private donation the university has ever received and one of the largest ever made to a music department in the United States was donated to Canada.

Member of the Order of Canada

He has held senior positions in government and the private sector.

In 1970 he became President and CEO of Creditel of Canada Limited, then the country’s largest credit reporting and collection agency.

When the company was sold, Mr. Desautel became President of a foundation set up from his fortune, the Canadian Credit Management Foundation. Since 1996 it has awarded more than 400 scholarships per year.

Helping young people has always motivated me when I [regarde les jeunes]I see heroes of the futurehe confided to Radio-Canada in 2019.

In total, the Franco-Manitobans donated more than $100 million.

Mr. Desautels was a member of the Order of Canada, the Order of Ontario and the Order of Manitoba.