of canada inc. type public traded as tsx pow industry conglomerate founded 1925 ; 91 years ago 1925 founder arthur j. nesbitt and peter thompson headquarters montreal quebec canada key people paul desmarais paul desmarais jr. and andr desmarais products financial services insurance media and energy revenue cad 42.629 billion 2014 net income cad 1.275 billion 2014 number of employees 38 000 2014 website powercorporation.com power corporation of canada is a diversified international management and canadian holding company . through its subsidiary power financial corporation it has interests in companies in the financial services sector in canada the united states and europe . through its subsidiary square victoria communications group it holds interest in companies from the communications and media sector . power corporation also holds and actively manages a portfolio of investments in the united states europe and asia . the company manages assets of 1.22 trillion . 1 the corporation is known for its active participation in canadian politics through its relationships and the relationships of the desmarais family with prominent politicians of all political stripes . contents 1 history 2 corporate governance 3 corporate social responsibility 4 fr re bourgeois partnership 5 politics 6 controversy 7 assets 8 references 8.1 bibliography 9 external links history edit power corporation of canada was formed in 1925 by stockbrokers arthur j. nesbitt and his partner peter a. t. thompson . nesbitt served as the company s first president . power corporation was created as a holding company to manage their substantial investments in public utility companies involved in the electrical power industry in quebec s eastern townships plus in the other canadian provinces of ontario manitoba new brunswick and british columbia . in the latter part of the 1930s the company acquired a controlling interest in bathurst pulp and paper company ltd. and in 1938 canadian oil companies ltd. selling the latter to shell oil company in 1962 . in 1952 arthur j. nesbitt was succeeded as president by his son arthur deane nesbitt 1910 1978 . the family sold most their interest in power corporation to the paul desmarais group in 1968 and by 1970 no longer had any involvement . at that time paul desmarais had already started implementing an investment philosophy which continues today responsible management prudent approach to risk long term value creation etc. 1984 saw the creation of a diversified management and holding company power financial corporation . global expansion for the group began in the 1970s in europe and followed in the 1990s in asia . the group s involvement in the finance sector continued in 2000 with the acquisition of canada life mackenzie financial and putnam investments . power corporation owns 100 % of square victoria communications group 66.1 % of power financial corporation and 4.3 % of citic pacific . while it was originally established as an electric utility holding company the company became a conglomerate with major interests in publishing and the finance industry . 2 corporate governance edit the co co chief executive officers are andr desmarais and paul desmarais jr. . pierre beaudoin is president and chief executive officer of bombardier inc. marcel r. coutu is president and chief executive officer of canadian oil sands limited . as a holding company the officers run the companies through the various boards . 3 corporate social responsibility edit community investment responsible management has long been a corporate value at power corporation . this is reflected through the corporations community investment . power corporation has been a supporter of the imagine program in canada since 1989 . 4 its subsidiaries also support this national program which promotes corporate and public commitment in communities . in addition to promoting volunteering the program calls for corporations to contribute to a target of 1 % of pre tax domestic profit to charitable causes 5 threshold which power corporation has met year after year . through charitable giving and volunteering initiatives power corporation has contributed to more than 800 organizations in the past . in 2013 the company has the community investments was segmented as follows community development 31 % health 21 % arts and culture 20 % education 24 % environment 4 % fr re bourgeois partnership edit pargesa holding sa 6 is held by parjointco nv and bnp paribas and its investment portfolio includes lafarge cement and building materials imerys industrial minerals total oil and gas gdf suez electricity and gas suez environnement water and waste management and pernod ricard wines and spirits . parjointco is indirectly owned by power corporation and belgian tycoon albert fr re . 7 the desmarais family and fr re are shareholders in oil company total sa france s largest oil company . 8 total was the subject of a formal investigation by the united nations in february 2010 for bribery charges concerning oil deliveries from iraq during the rule of dictator saddam hussein . 9 10 politics edit the company is controlled by paul desmarais sr. . his son paul desmarais jr. is one of thirty members of the north american competitiveness council a group whose advice directs the policies of security and prosperity partnership of north america spp . additionally the company has long been a close ally of the liberal party of canada although former or current members of other canadian political parties have also worked for power corp. the company has been criticized for its links with canadian politics 11 and specifically for its commitment to the defense of federalism in quebec . indeed several former canadian prime ministers have worked on staff . a brief summary of the connections between power corp. and those with political power in canada is below . former prime minister of canada paul martin was hired in the 1960s to work for paul desmarais sr. by maurice strong . martin became president of canada steamship lines a subsidiary of power corp. and in 1981 desmarais sold the company to martin and a partner . martin went on to make his personal fortune as an owner of csl . former prime minister of canada jean chr tien sat on the board of power corp. subsidiary consolidated bathurst in the late 1980s before he became the leader of the liberal party of canada . chr tien s daughter france is married to the son of paul desmarais sr. andr . also chr tien s chief of staff eddie goldenberg worked in the past for power corp. former prime minister of canada the late pierre trudeau served in the mid 1990s on power corp. s international advisory board . trudeau s assistant ted johnson also worked for power corp. during the trudeau administration michael pitfield held a variety of positions in government but during his time in the private sector he was at one time a vice chairman of power corp. and is currently listed as a director emeritus . former prime minister of canada brian mulroney also has a relationship with power corporation . mulroney s friend ian macdonald described desmarais as mulroney s mentor in the business world and it is believed that mulroney has done legal work for power corp. since the end of his term as prime minister . additionally former mulroney minister of transport don mazankowski is currently power corp. s company director . former premiers of ontario william davis and john robarts of the progressive conservatives have both sat on power corp. s national advisory board . john rae the brother of former ndp premier bob rae currently serves as power corp. s executive vice president . former premier of quebec premier daniel johnson jr. worked for power corp. from 1973 to 1981 and in the last three years of this term was a vice president in the company . former member of the liberal party of canada maurice strong became president of power corp. by his mid thirties . he had a role in the creation of the canadian international development agency and in 1976 he was appointed to run petro canada . he later worked for the united nations . power corp. s international advisory board has featured individuals such as former german chancellor helmut schmidt former oil minister of saudi arabia sheikh ahmed zaki yamani former head of the us federal reserve board paul volcker and the previously mentioned former prime minister of canada pierre trudeau . the former caisse de d p t et placement du qu bec s president and ceo henri paul rousseau became the vice chairman of the company and a member of the board of directors of power corporation . controversy edit power corporation has always benefits from personal relations with politicians from canada the u.s and france over the years . knowing how important the separation from state to the private sector can be this can create a major conflict of interest . assets edit power corporation of canada 65.8 % power financial corporation which owns 50 % of parjointco n.v. which owns 56.5 % of 76.0 % with voting rights of pargesa holding s.a. which owns 50.2 % of the voting shares of groupe bruxelles lambert which holds ownership in lafarge 21 % cement and construction aggregates imerys 56.6 % industrial minerals total s.a. 3.6 % oil and gas gdf suez 2.4 % electricity and gas suez environnement 7.2 % water treatment and garbage and garbage disposal pernod ricard 7.5 % wine and spirits and sgs 15 % inspection and certification 42.5 % of imerys great west lifeco which owns 100 % great west life which owns 100 % london life 100 % canada life which owns 100 % irish life 100 % great west financial 100 % putnam investments which owns 80 % panangora asset management igm financial inc. investors group inc. mackenzie financial corporation investment planning counsel square victoria communications group which owns square victoria digital properties workopolis olive media la presse t l gesca limit e which owns la presse canadian newspaper lapresse.ca and la presse 11 references edit http www.powercorporation.com en investor relations power corporation snapshot power corporation snapshot the name is power and it fits the new york times january 25 2007 . http www.youtube.com watch v l4tn8b7dqzs & feature c4 overview vl & list plwif23wvltbswk0bkr2 brfxbbc3xbnhx community investment website imagine canada pargesa holding sa ft.com frere and desmarais families of belgium and canada the real power behind imerys webshells gore backed by group linked to oil industry calgarysun april 21 2010 . total faces iraq oil for food bribery investigation business week april 6 2010 . total under investigation over iraq oil for food reuters april 6 2010 . http www.youtube.com watch v iuckffznvay & feature c4 overview & list uufya9l1rvw460rqthcqlcvw bibliography edit nesbitt a. r. deane . dry goods & pickles the story of nesbitt thomson . 1989 nesbitt toronto isbn 0 9694148 0 3 external links edit official website v t e power corporation of canada power corporation of canada fr re bourgeois cnp groups gesca power financial la presse cyberpresse.ca great west lifeco igm financial power financial europe b.v. la tribune le nouvelliste the great west life assurance company great west life & annuity insurance co investors group mackenzie investments parjointco n.v. le droit le soleil london life insurance company canada life financial investment planning counsel inc pargesa holding s.a. le quotidien groupe bruxelles lambert v t e s & p tsx 60 companies of canada february 22 2016 agnico eagle mines agrium arc resources bank of montreal barrick gold bce inc. blackberry bombardier brookfield asset management cameco canadian imperial bank of commerce canadian national canadian natural resources canadian pacific canadian tire cenovus energy cgi group constellation software couche tard crescent point energy dollarama eldorado gold emera enbridge encana first quantum minerals franco nevada fortis inc. gildan goldcorp husky energy imperial oil inter pipeline kinross gold loblaw companies magna international manulife financial metro national bank of canada pembina pipeline potashcorp power corporation restaurant brands international rogers communications royal bank of canada saputo scotiabank shaw communications silver wheaton