Étienne Gaboury

Étienne-Joseph Gaboury (April 24, 1930 – October 14, 2022) was a Canadian architect from Winnipeg, Manitoba. He was noted for designing key buildings in his hometown, such as the Royal Canadian Mint building, Esplanade Riel, Saint Boniface Cathedral, and the Precious Blood Church, and was regarded as the province's greatest architect.

Early life Gaboury was born in Bruxelles, Manitoba, on April 24, 1930. His parents, Napoléon and Valentine Gaboury, were French-Canadian farmers. He was the youngest of 11 children, and was a distant relative of Louis Riel. Gaboury studied architecture and Latin at St. Boniface College in the University of Manitoba, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in 1953. where he established an architectural partnership with Denis Lussier and Frank Sigurdson. Gaboury later revealed that the project nearly fell through, with five earlier proposals being rejected before the final design was agreed to. His work in Manitoba extended beyond Winnipeg, as he was the architect for the Helen Betty Osborne Ininew Education Resource Centre (HBOIERC) in Norway House, Manitoba. the building's Mexican-inspired exterior and Canadian interior represented a dramatic departure from Gaboury usual style. The statue was unveiled in 1970 and stood on the grounds of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba for 23 years. The design proved to be controversial, attracting objections from the Métis community and being subjected to vandalism on multiple occasions. The statue was subsequently moved to the grounds of the Collège universitaire de Saint-Boniface in 1995.

Personal life Gaboury's wife was a ceramist. Their daughter, , was an author and professor of literature at the University of St. Boniface. Grandfather of , multidisciplinary visual artist

Gaboury died on October 14, 2022, at the age of 92. He had earlier been conferred a Canadian Heritage Award for his reconstruction of Saint Boniface Cathedral. Two years later, he was made a Member of the Order of Manitoba (OM).

Books Étienne Gaboury, Éditions du Blé (2005)