Prime Minister Appoints Yves Landry as Chair of Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation

Prime Minister Jean Chrétien is pleased to announce that Mr. Yves Landry, Chairman and CEO of Chrysler Canada, has accepted his invitation to Chair the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation. Beginning in the year 2000, the Foundation will be responsible for awarding the Canada Millennium Scholarships; a centrepiece of the government's new Canadian Opportunities Strategy, which was outlined today in the 1998 Budget.

"I am delighted that Mr. Landry has accepted this position," said the Prime Minister. "He is one of our most distinguished citizens, and has had a long interest in higher education. As someone who is on the leading edge of Canada's changing industrial sector, Mr. Landry knows first hand the tremendous economic changes that are already moulding the new millennium. He brings just the right mix of executive skills and personal commitment we were looking for in the Foundation Chair."

"I am very pleased and honoured to have been invited by the Prime Minister to serve as the Chair of the Millennium Scholarship Foundation," said Mr. Landry. "I look forward to undertaking this important assignment which will hopefully address a major impediment to many of Canada's youth achieving their dreams of a higher education."

The Millennium Scholarship Foundation will manage the initial $2.5 billion Government of Canada endowment and award 100,000 full and part-time students each year over 10 years. The Millennium Scholarships endowment is the single largest investment ever made by a Canadian government to support access to knowledge and skills for all Canadians.

Mr. Landry will Chair the Foundation's Board of Directors, which will be made up of private citizens. The Foundation will consult with provinces and the post-secondary community with the goal of having the Scholarships work as a complement to provincial student assistance programs. In addition to being a leader in the Canadian business community, Mr. Landry is also a member of the CEO External Resource Group to the Ontario Ministry of Education, the Corporate Council on Youth in the Economy and the Conference Board of Canada's National Council on Education.

PMO Press Office: (613) 957-5555

Born in Thedord Mines, Quebec in 1938, G.Y. (Yves) Landry holds Bachelor of Commerce and Master of Commercial Science Degree from Laval University, Quebec and is a graduate of executive training programs at Queen's University in Ontario and Columbia University in New York.

Prior to joining Chrysler Canada Ltd., as Regional Sales Manager in the company's Quebec office in Montreal in 1969, Mr. Landry held senior sales positions with two major Canadian oil companies.

He was appointed Atlantic Regional Manager in 1970 and Quebec Regional Manager two years later. In 1977, Mr. Landry was appointed Manager - Merchandising at Chrysler Canada's head office in Windsor, Ontario. He was named Manager - Vehicle Sales the following year.

Promoted to General Sales Manager in 1979, Mr. Landry was elected a Vice President of Chrysler Canada in 1980. He was named Vice President - Sales and Marketing in 1985.

In 1986, Mr. Landry was appointed General Manager - Import Operations for Chrysler Corporation in Detroit. He was named General Manager - International Sales and Marketing two years later. In this position, Mr. Landry played a key role in Chrysler's highly successful re-entry into world vehicle markets.

Mr. Landry returned to Chrysler Canada as Executive Vice President in 1989. He was appointed Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer of Chrysler Canada Ltd. on December 12, 1989, effective January 1, 1990.

A member of the Advisory Council of the Faculty of Administrative Sciences at Laval University, Mr. Landry was awarded the Laval Faculty of Business Administration's Hermes Award in 1986, and in 1993 received Laval's "La Gloire de L'Escolle". As well, he was the 1993 recipient of the McGill University Management Award and was named Private Sector Executive of the Year by the Institute of Certified Management Accountants of Ontario in the same year.

Among his academic honours, Mr. Landry received an Honourary Doctorate Degree from the University of Ottawa in 1993, and an Honourary Doctor of Laws Degree from the University of Windsor in June, 1995. Most recently, in 1997, Mr. Landry received Honourary Doctorate Degrees in Civil Law from Acadia University in Nova Scotia, and in Business Administration from the University of Moncton in New Brunswick.

G. Yves Landry was invested as an Officer of the Order of Canada on May 14, 1995.

Yves Landry is Co-Chairman of the Automotive Advisory Committee to the Minister of Industry Canada; a member of the Government Advisory Committee to the Privy Council; a member of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturing Association; and is a past member of the United States - Canada Select Committee on Free Trade, and the Advisory Committee on Executive Compensation of the Privy Council of Canada. He is also a member of a number of Federal advisory boards and committees, including Industry Canada's Task Force Year 2000.

A Director of the Industrial Alliance Life Insurance Company, Mr. Landry is also a member of the Board of Governors of the University of Windsor; was 1996 Honourary Chairman of the United Way of Windsor and Essex County; and Honourary Chairman of the 1996 Fundraising Campaigns at both the University of Laval, Quebec and Acadia University of Nova Scotia.

Mr. G. Yves Landry has long been an active and vocal proponent of restructuring our higher education system in Canada in order to meet the needs of Canada's youth as we approach the end of the current century. As such he is a member of the CEO External Resource Group to the Ontario Ministry of Education and Training; Corporate Council on Youth in the Economy; and the Conference Board of Canada's National Council on Education.

In speeches across Canada, Mr. Landry has urged governments and educators to make our educational system more cost effective and responsive to the demands of our rapidly evolving economy in order to increase our global competitive abilities.

He has been a tireless promoter of the need for increased research and development in Canada. This drive and dedication culminated in the announcement of the first Automotive Research and Development Centre in Canada, a joint venture between the University of Windsor and Chrysler Canada Ltd. in October of 1994.

Mr. Landry is a member of the Windsor and Quebec Chamber of Commerce, Beach Grove Golf & Country Club, Windsor, Ontario and the Renaissance Club of Detroit, Michigan.

Mr. Landry and his wife Henrielle, reside in Windsor, Ontario. They have a daughter and two sons.


Return to regular web page:
http://www.pco-bcp.gc.ca/default.asp?Language=E&Page=archivechretien&Sub=NewsReleases&Doc=news_re19980224739_e.htm