The reaction of the political class and business people quickly followed the announcement of the death of Bernard Lemaire, co-founder of the Cascades company.
• Also read: Cascades co-founder Bernard Lemaire has died
“Today we lose one of our great entrepreneurs, a visionary and co-founder of Cascades,” Quebec Premier François Legault said Thursday morning, adding that Bernard Lemaire “was one of the symbols of Quebec’s international rise” in the business world .
Today we lose one of our great entrepreneurs, a visionary and co-founder of Cascades. Bernard Lemaire was one of the symbols of Quebec’s international rise in business. My thoughts are with his family and loved ones.
— François Legault (@francoislegault) November 9, 2023
MP for Arthabaska and Prime Minister Éric Lefebvre also expressed his condolences to Mr Lemaire’s family and friends. “It is with sadness that I learn of the death of Mr. Bernard Lemaire, one of the great builders of our region and of Quebec,” he wrote on X.
On the business side, the President and CEO of the Conseil du Patronat, Karl Blackburn, lamented the loss of a “great visionary.” “Today we lose a man who knew how to embody Quebec Inc. through his human values and his innovative spirit,” he said.
For his part, businessman Louis Garneau described the co-founder of Cascades as an “idol,” “a great builder.”