One of the great builders of Quebec is no more. Engineer Armand Couture died Thursday at the age of 91, his family announced in a statement Saturday morning.
Armand Couture was a member of the management of the firm Lalonde Valois Lamarre Valois et Associés, which became Lavalin, then SNC-Lavalin (1968-1991).
In his young career as an engineer, he was the main designer of the Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine bridge-tunnel, inaugurated on March 11, 1967, by Prime Minister Daniel Johnson and his predecessor Jean Lesage, who had launched the project, as well as of the mayor of Montreal at the time, Jean Drapeau.
Armand Couture is seen as a pioneer in his field. He participated in the sale of the first major contracts of Quebec engineering firms internationally.
He was also President and Chief Operating Officer of Hydro-Québec from 1992 to 1996.
His name is closely associated with the construction and management of the James Bay hydroelectric complexes. He had also been appointed chairman of the board of the Société d’énergie de la Baie-James, of which he was the representative during the negotiations of the James Bay and Northern Québec Agreement and during numerous other agreements with Natives of Quebec.
Armand Couture was named an Officer of the National Order of Quebec in 1999.
He was also named a member of the Order of Canada in 2001 and a Grand Builder of the Polytechnique Alumni Association in 2006.
Armand Couture has sat on the board of several public organizations and businesses. He notably held the reins of the board of the National Institute of Scientific Research (NRS), in Quebec, from 1998 to 2012.
He is survived by three children, Luc, Denise and Benoit, numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.