Dr. André B. Lalonde, who grew up in Vankleek Hill has been named to the Order of Canada.
Lalonde’s appointment was announced by Governor-General Mary Simon on December 18, 2024.
According to a statement issued by Government House at Rideau Hall in Ottawa, Lalonde, a gynecologist and obstetrician has played a leading role in humanizing maternity care in Canada and abroad. His exemplary leadership has fostered best practices and helped recognize the pivotal role of midwives, introduce birthing rooms in Canada and return childbirth to the Cree community in Québec.
Lalonde, 81, was born in his family’s home on the upper level of 17 Main Street East in Vankleek Hill to Antoinette and Dorima “D-J” Lalonde. Today, the lower level of the building is the Home Hardware store. D-J owned a feed store and egg grading station in the building. He also owned a farm at what is now the site of Vankleek Hill Collegiate Institute, and another farm east of Vankleek Hill. Five of the family’s six children, including André, were born in the building on Main Street.
Dr. Lalonde attended elementary school in Vankleek Hill, but went to Ottawa for secondary school. After that, he pursued studies at the University of Ottawa, graduating in 1968, and became a medical doctor. He trained as an obstetrician/gynecologist in Calgary, Boston, and Montréal and has been licensed in Ontario since 1973.
Lalonde said his early interest in medicine began while accompanying family members on appointments to see Dr. Lacent who had an office in St-Eugène.
“I would always go with them to listen about what people were talking about with their ailments,” he said.
Lalonde recalls his mother encouraging him to pursue post-secondary education.
“My mother kept telling me that if you don’t want to clean the barn, you better go to university.”
After many years as a professor of medicine at McGill University, Lalonde relocated to Ottawa in 1990 where he served as the head of the Canadian Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists while teaching at the University of Ottawa and practicing at the Montfort Hospital.
Now semi-retired, Lalonde continues to oversee, on a volunteer-basis, an international project that aims to improve childbirth conditions and survival rates for both babies and mothers in South America, Africa, and Asia.
Throughout his career, Lalonde has worked to establish relationships between physicians, midwives, and families as part of the birthing process and to give childbirth dedicated spaces and support in hospitals.
Lalonde said he still visits Vankleek Hill occasionally while traveling to his cottage in the Laurentians. He enjoys stopping to reminisce about his hometown. The Order of Canada is the nation’s highest civil honour and Lalonde reflected upon his appointment to it modestly.
“It’s quite a feat for a guy from Vankleek Hill,” he said.
The induction ceremony for Lalonde and other recently-announced appointees to the Order of Canada will take place later in 2025.
