Charles Alexander Allard (November 19, 1919August 11, 1991) was a Canadian banker, broadcaster, businessman, and surgeon who set up the Canadian radio station

CHQT CHQT was an AM broadcasting, AM radio station in Edmonton, Edmonton, Alberta. Owned by Corus Entertainment, the station first launched in August 1965. In June 2008, after having broadcast various music-based formats, CHQT flipped to an All-news r ...

and

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

's independent television station

CITV-TV CITV-DT (channel 13) is a television station in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, part of the Global Television Network. The station is owned and operated by network parent Corus Entertainment, and maintains studios on Allard Way Northwest in the Pl ...

, and was the founder of the Bank of Alberta,

Allarcom WIC Western International Communications Ltd. (or WIC) was a Canadian media company that operated from 1982 to 2000, with operations including broadcast and specialty television, radio, and satellite distribution via a majority interest in Ca ...

, and the

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...

. He was a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Canada, chief of staff at the Edmonton General Hospital, and posthumously inducted in the

Canadian Association of Broadcasters The Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) is a trade association representing the interests of commercial radio and television broadcasters in Canada. It is co-located with the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council in Ottawa. It was first ...

Hall of Fame in 1996.

Life

Charles Allard was born in Edmonton, Alberta, in 1919, and graduated from high school in Edmonton. He received his medical degree from the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta (also known as U of A or UAlberta, ) is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta, and Henry Marshall Tory, t ...

in 1943, and went on to complete his postgraduate studies in surgery at the

Montreal General Hospital The Montreal General Hospital (MGH) () is a hospital in Montreal, Quebec, Canada established in the years 1818–1820. The hospital received its charter in 1823. It is currently part of the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) and is located ...

;

Lahey Clinic The Lahey Hospital & Medical Center, formerly known as the Lahey Clinic, is a physician-led nonprofit teaching hospital of UMass Chan Medical School based in Burlington, Massachusetts. The hospital was founded in Boston in 1923 by surgeon Frank ...

, Boston;

Royal Victoria Hospital, Montreal The Royal Victoria Hospital (RVH) ( (''HRV'')), colloquially known as the "Royal Vic" or "The Vic", is a hospital in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It forms the largest base hospital of the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC), which is affiliated w ...

; and Children's Memorial Hospital of Montreal. He was appointed the chief of staff of the Edmonton General Hospital. Allard died in Edmonton in 1991, at the age of 71.

Business career

Allard has had a diverse range of entrepreneurial efforts spanning banking, broadcasting, entertainment, health care, mass media, and sports. In 1965, Allard founded the Edmonton radio station CHQT, and western Canada's first independent TV station, CITV-TV, in 1973. He co-founded Paris Investments, which was later renamed Allarco Developments, and became one of the largest real-estate companies in Canada. He was the founder, chairman of the board, and director of Alberta Gas and Chemicals. Dr. Allard was the founder, chairman of the board, and director of International Jet Air. He was one of the founders of Bank of Alberta, which went on to become the Canadian Western Bank. He consolidated his media interests into

which was sold to

Western International Communications WIC Western International Communications Ltd. (or WIC) was a Canadian media company that operated from 1982 to 2000, with operations including broadcast and specialty television, radio, and satellite distribution via a majority interest in Ca ...

in 1991. In 1971, he founded the hockey team, the

, then a participant in the

World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association () was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972–73 WHA season, 1972 to 1978–79 WHA season, 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (N ...

, with notable players that included

Wayne Gretzky Wayne Douglas Gretzky ( ; born January 26, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "the Great One ...

Honours and awards

Allard was the recipient of multiple honours, including: * Canadian Business Hall of Fame (inducted 1995) *

Broadcast Hall of Fame (inducted 1996)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allard, Charles 1919 births 1991 deaths 20th-century Canadian businesspeople 20th-century Canadian surgeons Businesspeople from Edmonton Canadian bankers Canadian broadcasters Canadian businesspeople in the oil industry Canadian chief executives Canadian mass media owners Canadian manufacturing businesspeople Canadian businesspeople in real estate Edmonton Oilers executives Physicians from Alberta World Hockey Association owners University of Alberta alumni