Fonds

Stanley Ferguson was born in Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts, in 1919. He was the son of Janet Powell and William Stanley Ferguson, a First World War veteran.

Early in his career, he held various jobs in the Laurentian hospitality sector before becoming manager of Mont Tremblant Lodge, located at the foot of Mont Tremblant. Developed by American Joseph Bondurant Ryan, this lodging establishment was the first large-scale ski resort in Quebec. When it opened on February 12, 1939, it featured a chairlift and eight runs, making the mountain accessible to skiers. When Ferguson arrived in 1942, Mont Tremblant Lodge was already one of the most prestigious hotels in the region, attracting celebrities and people from around the world.

In 1944, he left Quebec and became the resident manager of the luxurious King Edward Hotel in downtown Toronto, which was owned by the Canadian Cardy Hotels Corporation. In 1947, he was transferred to Sainte-Marguerite-du-Lac-Masson, where he was general manager of the Alpine Inn until 1950. The American Sheraton hotel chain then named him sales director for its Canadian hotels and, after organizing and setting up this new department, he moved briefly to Niagara Falls, where he was general manager of the General Brock Hotel.

In 1950, his sister Edith Victoria married Vernon Grandison Cardy, a Canadian hotel magnate. A year later, Cardy announced the appointment of Stanley Ferguson as the manager of his Laurentian properties: Sainte-Adèle Lodge, Alpine Inn and the Sainte-Marguerite-du-Lac-Masson golf course. In 1965, Joseph Bondurant Ryan's widow, Mary Ryan, offered to sell Mont Tremblant Lodge to businessman André Charron. Forming a partnership with Jean-Louis Lévesque and Roger Beauchemin, Charron purchased the establishment, renaming it Mont Tremblant Resort. Ferguson was made vice-president and general manager of the ski resort, returning to Mont Tremblant after over twenty years. The experienced hotelier improved the finances of the establishment, which was welcoming more and more loyal and demanding clients.

Named general manager of Montreal's Sheraton Mount Royal Hotel in 1976, he subsequently became regional vice-president of Canadian Pacific Hotels and Resorts, which then owned the Château Frontenac and Château Montebello.

A leader in the Canadian hotel industry, Stanley Ferguson was involved in many aspects of the industry throughout his career. For example, he was one of the founders of the Laurentian Winter Roads Association, and was a past president of the Laurentian Resort Association, the Montreal Hotel Association, the Provincial Hotel Association of Quebec and the Hotel Association of Canada. He was also a member of the International Hotel Association and director of the Greater Montréal Convention and Tourism Bureau. In 2007, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the Laurentian Ski Museum, which highlighted his contributions to developing the sport of skiing in Quebec and getting it recognized on the international stage.

He died in Saint-Sauveur on August 12, 2011.