Two days after International Women’s Day, Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton hosted a webinar with Group CH's President, Sports and Entertainment, France Margaret Belanger, and it was interesting to watch.
Born and raised in the small town of Matane, Quebec, Belanger couldn’t speak English as a teenager, so she attended an English-speaking college and the University of Ottawa to get her law degree.
Canadiens: Taking On The Canucks
Calder Trophy Race: Hutson In The Lead According To NHL.com
Canadiens Make More Lineup Changes
Fresh out of university, she started working for big law firm Stikeman Elliott, where she slowly but surely climbed the ladder and eventually became a partner. Throughout her 18 years at the firm, she was involved in some prominent cases, including George Gillette’s sale of the Montreal Canadiens in 2009 and the acquisition of a Major League Soccer franchise (the Montreal Impact) by the Saputo family.
Still, in 2013, she decided to undertake a new challenge, becoming Group CH’s Vice President of Legal Affairs. This first stepping stone led her to her current role, being the first woman to sit on the Canadiens’ executive committee and serve alongside Geoff Molson as an NHL Alternate Governor for the team.
She credits her parents with giving her a can-do attitude and explains that a few characteristics are essential to success: always being ready and rigorous, which she had no choice to be when she worked at Stikeman Elliott; having a positive attitude, meaning not complaining of being overworked; and just getting on with the tasks at hand. You have things to do; you do them. Being positive and keen at work will help you get the best assignment and win you allies. You need to dare as well; you can’t just be comfortable. If you want to succeed, you can’t fear change and must overcome obstacles, whatever or whoever they are. You can’t let someone else decide that you won’t be able to do something.
Finally, she also said confidence is key and something you build yourself. It comes naturally when you are always ready and well-prepared. She's also a fan or Billie Jean King's quote: "If you can see it, you can be it", a line we've heard a lot since the creation of the PWHL. It was an inspiring talk for any woman who wants to make her way in any business, and I appreciated it.
While her role doesn’t focus on the hockey team, Belanger still slipped in a few interesting facts about the Habs. In 2024, the Canadiens accounted for 9% to 10 % of the media space in Quebec (the entire media space, not just sports media). The intense scrutiny the players face has led the team to give them plenty of training and awareness-raising initiatives on numerous topics to ensure they feel adequately supported and can deal with the attention. Social media is one of the key topics covered, especially since everyone nowadays has a phone with a camera in hand.
She mentioned how good the Canadiens’ current leadership is with Geoff Molson, Jeff Gorton, Kent Hughes, and Martin St-Louis, whom his players respect because of the path he took—from being an undrafted free agent to a captain and Staley Cup champion before landing in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Belanger says that none of the players want to disappoint the coach.
Regarding the organization’s relationship with its fans, she revealed that the team has over five million followers on various social media accounts. This year, the platforms have generated over 166 million views of their different videos and 759 million impressions.
She was asked if she believes the Canadiens will be able to remain competitive even with the value of the dollar, and she’s adamant that they will because Montreal is the ultimate hockey town. Gary Bettman and the other hockey executives were impressed by the attendance at the 4 Nations Face-Off. The 2022 NHL draft held in Montreal was an unprecedented success, with legions of fans in the building for all the rounds, which brought the NY Times to write that the draft should always be held in Montreal.
The executive was also proud to say that the Canadiens are the NHL team who have the biggest contingent of women in leadership positions, according to a survey led by the league.
Asked what she wanted her legacy to be, she immediately replied that she wanted a Stanley Cup ring before she moved on. She firmly believes in what is being built in Montreal right now, and her eyes lit up when she mentioned Ivan Demidov’s upcoming arrival.
Canadiens stories, analysis, breaking news, and more! Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News, never to miss a story.
Follow Karine on X @KarineHains Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social and Threads @karinehains.
Bookmark The Hockey News Canadiens' page for all the news and happenings around the Canadiens.