Cirque du Soleil is a Montreal-based entertainment company and the largest contemporary circus producer in the world. Located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul on 16 June 1984 by former street performers Guy Laliberté and Gilles Ste-Croix.
Founded: June 16, 1984, Baie-Saint-Paul, Canada
Founders: Guy Laliberté, Daniel Gauthier, Gilles Ste-Croix
Born on September 2, 1959, Guy was a member of an affluent middle-class Québec City family. Guy’s father Gaston was the vice-president of Alcan (Canada’s largest Aluminum company) and his mother Blandine was a nurse. Always rambunctious and filled with wanderlust Guy ran away from home at the age of 14 leaving behind a note to his parents with a quote from philosopher Kahlil Gibran, “Your children are not your children; they are the sons and daughters of the call of life itself.” Guy traveled the world living life under the hippie philosophy. He played accordion on the streets for money. He traveled to Europe with nothing more than his accordion and $50 in his pocket. He often slept on park benches in Paris and London at the time. Guy also wound up in Hawaii for a while, where he picked up the art of fire-eating.
Much to his parents’ relief Guy eventually returned home after his stab at independence. He even agreed to take a job at a hydro-electric installation at James Bay with the intention of saving enough money to pursue a degree in Nuclear Engineering. Three days before he was to begin work the workers went on strike and the site was closed. In a twist of fate which Laliberté later said changed the course of his life he decided to spend the summer at the Fête Foraine, the busker festival in Baie-Saint-Paul where he met Gilles Ste. Croix and his Stiltwalkers of Baie-Saint-Paul; a meeting that would eventually lead to the formation of the Cirque du Soleil many years later.
QUOTE BY GUY LAILBERTE
Inside every adult there's still a child that lingers. We're happiness merchants - giving people the opportunity to dream like children. - Guy Laiberte