Martin St-Victor: What Quebec's Top 100 Says About Us

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L'actualité is to Quebec what Maclean's is to the rest of Canada. Last week he released it list of most influential people a recent tradition inspired by one Time magazine established in the province 25 years ago.

The magazine explained that the people on the list have an impact that goes beyond their environment and encompasses the entire population. This effect should be realized in Quebec, wrote L'actualité.

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Not surprisingly, Prime Minister Francois Legault tops the list. He is followed by Health Minister Christian Dubé, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Finance Minister Pierre Fitzgibbon, with Hydro-Quebec CEO Michael Sabia coming in at No. 5.

Your eyes are not deceiving you. There are many elected officials there. Out of 100 people, 21 are from politics, 20 are from the world of culture, and 17 are media representatives.

In the bottom five of the list of the 100 most influential people in Quebec are Martin Munger, executive director of Quebec food banks, University of Sherbrooke Professor Luc Godbutt, rocket scientist Fara Alibai, political scientist Chantal Hébert, media expert Richard Martineau and television producer and host Julie Snyder, who ranked #100 on the list.

Upon its release, the roster sparked a tsunami of criticism for its lack of diversity. For example, there is not one black person. But diversity should also be reflected in age groups and gender. Only eight are in their 30s, 42 are in their 50s, and five are over 70. As for gender balance? According to L'actualité, sixty-six of the province's most influential people are men, 33 are women and one record is a couple.

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L'actualité weighed in on the controversy, saying that the exercise did not consist of creating a wish list of who to influence; rather, it most objectively lists those who have it at this point in history. The mis-au-point is important. But beyond the people mentioned, the industries they come from give us a temperature check on what moves the needle in Quebec — from climate to unionism, from artificial intelligence (an area where the province shines) to the arts of living (and business). Ricardo voted #28.)

Lack of diversity aside, it's surprising that no university presidents appear on the list.

40,000 students attend McGill University, and 50,000 attend Concordia. At the University of Montreal, their number reaches 70,000. With these numbers, it's not a stretch to say that McGill's Deep Saini, Concordia's Graham Carr and UdeM's Daniel Jutra are the small state leaders in the province. In addition to their academic impact, these noisy microstates have significant economic, cultural, and social significance. This is important. Their absence may be a sad indicator that education is not prioritized in our province and leadership may not be valued as it should be.

Shame. Influence is important, but so is trust. In Canada, this year is convincing again, most trusted traditional leaders scientists and teachers. As such, we need to hear and see more of them, especially when universities are sounding the alarm about the consequences of a lack of funding, reduced student access and projected lost revenue.

As imperfect as it may seem, L'actualité's list is important to understanding where we are. The stories it evokes are a sign that there's still work to be done, and that we're still waiting to see who we should be and who we want to be. This is progress.

Martin Saint-Victor is the general manager of Edelman Montreal and a media commentator. Instagram and X @martinemontreal

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