Writer/economist Pierre Fortin — three times a National Magazine Award winner for his regular columns in L’actualité — was named one of this year’s Great Montrealers by the Metropolitan Montreal Board of Trade earlier this week.
Dr. Fortin is an emeritus professor in economics at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) whose work in the economics of US-Canada free trade, the labour market, subsidized child care, population growth and minimum wage have earned him a fellowship in the Royal Society of Canada and a Governor General’s Gold Medal, among other accolades. He was once the chief economic advisor to former Quebec premier René Lévesque.
His highly regarded columns in L’actualité have been nominated for 7 National Magazine Awards; he won Gold in 2003 and 2008, and Silver in 2007.
According to its press release, the Academy of Great Montrealers now consists of 118 members named since 1978. Each year the Board of Trade honours individuals “who have distinguished themselves through outstanding contributions to the community in their respective spheres of activity, whether that be economic, social, cultural, or scientific.”
