Concordia mourns passing of Victor Goldbloom

During his lengthy career in public service, he worked diligently to bring together members of Quebec’s linguistic and religious communities. Concordia honoured him with an honorary doctorate in 1993.

“It’s impossible to overstate Victor’s stature in Quebec society or the magnitude of his life’s achievements,” says Bram Freedman, Concordia’s vice-president of Advancement and External Relations. “It’s equally impossible to capture his warmth or his indefatigable energy for a very public life that spanned nearly a century. Mentor to many, wise counsel, he defined the term ‘eminence grise.’”

In Goldbloom’s honorary degree citation, Concordia Professor Martin Kusy, BComm 69, described him as “a man committed to environmental and public health and the promotion of interfaith dialogue.”

Goldbloom published his memoir, Building Bridges, in 2015. In its preface, Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre wrote, “If politics is the art of compromise, then Victor is an exceptional artist. Victor is a model, a rock, an example to follow.”

Goldbloom is survived by his wife, Sheila, and their children, Michael Goldbloom, Jonathan Goldbloom and Susan Restler.

Michael Goldbloom, principal of Bishop’s University, told the Canadian Jewish News that he had been urging his father to write his story for 15 years. “But he was busy, too focused on looking to the future to have time for the past,” Michael Goldbloom said. 

Born in Montreal in 1923, Goldbloom became a Montreal pediatrician like his father, Alton Goldbloom.

He was first elected in 1966 as the Member of the National Assembly of Quebec for the Montreal riding of D’Arcy-McGee.

When Premier Robert Bourassa named Goldbloom to the newly created position of Minister of State responsible for Quality of the Environment in 1970, Goldbloom became the first member of the Jewish community to hold a Quebec cabinet post.

He later served as Minister of Municipal Affairs and Minister of the Environment.

After he retired from politics, Goldbloom acted as president and CEO of the Canadian Council of Christians and Jews, from 1979 to 1987, and as Canada’s Commissioner of Official Languages, from 1991 to 1999.

He was a very active community volunteer. Among many other roles, Goldbloom served as chair of Quebec Jewish Congress, the Quebec division of Canadian Jewish Congress. In 1983, Goldbloom was named a Member of the Order of Canada and in 2000 promoted to Companion, the country’s highest distinction.

The list of accolades to acknowledge Goldbloom’s career accomplishments is long. One such tribute was by the the Quebec Community Groups Network, which established the Sheila and Victor Goldbloom Distinguished Community Service Award in 2009 to celebrate individuals for their contribution to the vitality and understanding of English-speaking Quebec.

Goldbloom earned a Bachelor of Science in 1944, medical degree in 1945 and Diploma in Pediatrics in 1950, all from McGill University. McGill awarded Goldbloom an honorary doctorate in 1992.

The funeral service for Victor Goldbloom will be held at noon on Friday, February 18, at Temple Emanu-El Beth Shalom, 4100 Sherbrooke St. W., Westmount, Que.

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