Our Team

André Bureau dedicated a large part of his long and distinguished career to private broadcasting where over the last 30 years, thanks to his passion for our culture and his commitment to promoting Canadian radio and television, he has contributed significantly to the development of a world-class Canadian broadcasting system.

Before joining our firm Mr. Bureau held a number of key positions within major corporations including Chairman of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). Previously he was President and Chief Executive Officer of Cancom, and for a number of years was Executive Vice-President and then President of Télémédia Communications Inc. Hitherto, after spending a few years in private practice, he occupied the position of Executive Vice-President of La Presse Ltée, one of Quebec’s largest French-language daily newspapers.

In addition to his responsibilities at Heenan Blaikie, Mr. Bureau plays a leading role in the private sector as Chairman of the Board of Astral Media Inc. He is a prominent figure in the business world, communications in particular, and is currently Chairman of the Board of Viewer’s Choice Canada (VCC), Historia, Series⁺, Télétoon, MusiquePlus and TV Max Plus Productions Inc. He sits on the board of directors of The Guarantee Company of North America, Maison Saint-Gabriel and TerreStar Networks Holdings (Canada), and is a member of the Investment Committee of ID Fund L.P., Fier ID société en commandite and Fonds Propulsion III L.P.

Mr. Bureau was named Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres de France by the French government in 1992, and in 1994 received the title of Officer of the Order of Canada. In 2002 the Canadian Film and Television Academy awarded him the Grand Prix de l’Académie for his exceptional contribution to the Canadian television industry. Moreover, Mr. Bureau’s commitment to the broadcasting world was acknowledged by the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB), who presented him with the 2003 Gold Ribbon for broadcast excellence, the highest honour awarded by the CAB. In 2004, he was made a member of the CAB Broadcast Hall of Fame. In June 2012, he was named Officer of the Ordre National du Québec.

Mr. Bureau is recognized as one of Canada’s leading lawyers in the area of communications law in the 2011, 2012 and 2013 editions of The Best Lawyers in Canada (Woodward/White). In the area of telecommunications and broadcasting, Mr. Bureau was again named a leader in telecommunications and broadcasting in the 2010, 2011 and 2012 editions of Chambers Global: The World’s Leading Lawyers for Business. Mr. Bureau has been recognized in the 2012 Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory in telecommunications.

Mr. Bureau joined Heenan Blaikie as counsel in 1989.