The head office of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, in the heart of the Cité internationale de Montréal in Old Montreal, now bears the name of Jacques Parizeau.
The decision to rename the headquarters of the Caisse de dépôt was made the day after his death last year. Parizeau died on June 1, 2015.
It followed the filing of a motion by the PQ leader at the time, Pierre Karl Péladeau, a motion that was passed unanimously by the National Assembly.
The first Quebecer to get a doctorate from the prestigious London School of Economics in 1955, Parizeau was actively involved in the development of several economic instruments in Quebec.
Among others, he was a key architect of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec — which celebrated its 50th anniversary last year —, of the Société générale de financement, and the Société québécoise d’exploration minière.
Before taking the reins of the Parti Québécois, Parizeau was elected in 1976, becoming finance minister under René Lévesque, before stepping down in a huff in 1984.
As minister, in addition to implementing the Régime d’épargne-actions that allowed the growth of several companies based in Quebec, Parizeau also enabled the creation of the FTQ’s Solidarity Fund.
