Henri Dorion

Henri Dorion has led a prolific career in the field of geography, including being named president of Commission d’étude sur l’intégrité du territoire du Québec. During his last term as president of Commission de toponymie du Québec, he served as editor of an illustrated dictionary entitled Noms et lieux du Québec which earned him international recognition. He has served as director of research and collections at Musée de la civilisation and as Québec’s assistant deputy minister of international relations. In furthering Québec’s interests abroad he has served as Québec’s delegate general to Mexico and its non resident delegate to Russia and the Ukraine.

All throughout his career, Dorion has published numerous articles and remained active as a researcher and professor in the fields of toponymy, the geopolitics of borders—particularly those of Québec—and Slavic studies. In his work at Université Laval from 1964 to 2011, he was known as a proactive university administrator, an innovative researcher, and a devoted professor who inspired several generations of students.

Henri Dorion has earned numerous awards for his work, including the Royal Canadian Geographical Society’s Vincent Massey Medal and the Léon Gérin Award, Québec’s highest distinction in the field of humanities and social studies. His research on land and borders in Québec and Eastern Europe and his contribution to Québec’s stellar reputation in the field of toponymy have helped put Université Laval and Québec geographic sciences on the map.