She is considered one of the pillars of Montreal's artistic and cultural community. To assist and encourage young artists wishing to embark on a career in music, she founded the Guilde de l'Opéra de Montréal. She is also an enthusiastic supporter of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, the Canadian Centre for Architecture and a host of other cultural organizations. She works diligently to promote patronage in Canada and encourage business people to lend their support.
Officer of the Order of Canada
Awarded on: 2013-05-02
Invested on: 2013-11-22
A remarkable patron and philanthropist, Jacqueline Desmarais contributes to the vitality of the arts in Canada. Of note, she established a scholarship fund to support promising musicians. She also created a foundation through which she offers artistic, financial and promotional support to young opera singers from across Canada, enabling them to hold their own on the world’s biggest stages. In addition, she supports numerous music, arts and medical organizations, and through a fund she created, New York Metropolitan Opera productions are being broadcast in movie theatres across the country, giving a broader audience the opportunity to see and appreciate opera.
This is a promotion within the Order.