Pierre Fortier, professor emeritus of French and Canadian studies at York’s Glendon campus, died Jan. 30, after a brief illness, at age 75. Fortier joined the faculty at Glendon in 1966, teaching French and French-Canadian literature until his retirement in 1994. He served as director of Glendon’s French and Canadian Studies departments on several occasions and is remembered with great fondness by his friends and former colleagues at Glendon.
Following his retirement, Fortier continued to work tirelessly on behalf of Toronto’s Francophone community. He was a co-founder of la Société d’histoire de Toronto (1984) to which he donated all his remaining energy in his final weeks, said the society’s Web site.
Right: Pierre Fortier
Fortier was passionate about history and civilization and wrote a number of articles and monographs with Glendon colleague Clermont Trudelle about the French fact in Toronto. “But he remains best known for his strong, handsome voice, which he used on a good number of programs on Radio-Canada and TVO,” said the society.
Fortier was awarded several honours for his work and contributions to Toronto’s Francophone community by Ontario and the City of Toronto. He was given a Lieutenant-Governor’s Award of Excellence in 2004 for his important contributions to Toronto’s over-65 Francophone community. He won a teaching award from the Ontario Council on University Affairs in 1977.
Prof. Fortier is survived by his sister Denyse and his brother Guy, his nephews and nieces and his many friends and colleagues. At his request, there will be no funeral services in Toronto or in Quebec. Donations in his memory can be made to la Société d’histoire de Toronto, to which he dedicated a big part of his life.