Allan Koury

Allan Koury
Member of the Canadian Parliament for Hochelaga—Maisonneuve
In office 1988–1993
Preceded by	Édouard Desrosiers
Succeeded by	Réal Ménard
Personal details
Born	(1930-11-22)22 November 1930 Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts, Quebec
Died	5 September 2004(2004-09-05) (aged 73)
Political party	Progressive Conservative

Allan Koury (22 November 1930 – 5 September 2004) was a member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1988 to 1993. He was proprietor of the Montreal-area business Mercerie Allan for 55 years, and created the Societes d'initiatives et de développement d'arteres commerciales (SIDAC), an association dedicated to commercial development.

Early Life

Allan (Halim) Constantine Koury was born on November 22, 1930 in Ste. Agathe des Monts, Quebec, Canada. The fourth child of six (Geneveve, Michael, Lily, Allan, Karim, Gabriel), his parents immigrated from Lebanon in 1920-1921. His father Massad was a peddler of dry goods and later opened his own store in Ste. Agathe. After Allan’s mother Sada Koury (née Hanna) fell ill, she wrote to her sister Mariella back in Lebanon and asked her to come to Canada to help her raise the children. At the age of 35 years and nine months, Sada died on May 31, 1939 from Tuberculosis of Peritoneum. She was buried on Friday, June 02, 1939. She left behind six children, the youngest of which was six months old. A few years later, Massad married Mariella and they had one child together (Johanna). At the age of seven, Koury caddied at local golf clubs and fell in love with the sport. As a young man, Koury practices amateur boxing and also considered a career as a professional golfer before ultimately deciding to focus his efforts on helping with the family business.

Allan’s Mean’s Wear & Merchant Associations

Massad moved his family to the east end of Montreal in 1949. At age 19, Koury found a business that was for sale on Masson Street in the Rosemount district and told his father about the opportunity. Massad bought the business and opened a men’s clothing store which Allan managed for 55 years under the name of Allan’s Men’s Wear until his death in 2004 at the age of 72. In later years Massad opened two other stores, in Montreal’s Ahuntsic & Lachine districts. During the 55 years that Allan worked the business, he also created a merchants retail association called Le Regroupement des marchands de l’est. This association was a precursor to what is known today as Societé des Initiatives des Artères Commercial (SIDAC) for Masson Street. SIDAC was eventually extended to include all merchants within Quebec, and Allan Koury was named SIDAC’s president by the city of Montreal. As part of the merchant association, Koury also began organizing sidewalk sales to drum up business for Masson St. In a memorable moment, a little-known 13 year old Quebec singer named Céline Dion performed for the early Masson Street sidewalk sales. The sidewalk sale has since grown in popularity and is now a regular summer feature for multiple commercial arteries in Montreal, such as Saint-Laurent Street, Saint-Hubert Street, and Mount-Royal Street. Koury was named Montreal’s Business Man of the Year on March 11, 1978 at an event attended by Montreal’s Mayor Jean Drapeau. Later that year, Koury was invited to pitch the opening throw at a Montreal Expos baseball game at the newly built Olympic Stadium in 1978. Koury gained influence as he further developed his merchant organization, culminating in a two hour lunch meeting with Quebec Premier René Lévesque at Habib's restaurant in east-end Montreal. One topic of discussion was Koury’s insistence on the removal of a provincial sales tax to help spur the economy. Premier Levesque ultimately agreed to lift the sales tax and soon after implemented the legislative change.

David vs. Goliath (The battle against Marathon Realty)

The initial reason for forming Le Regroupement de l’est was to consolidate opposition of a major shopping center development proposed by Marathon Realty. This initiative was intended to be the largest shopping center in Canada at the time. Koury publicly opposed the project on the grounds that the shopping development would have spelled the demise of Montreal’s vibrant commercial arteries (Masson, Saint-Hubert, Mount-Royal, Ontario, Saint-Laurent & Saint-Catherine East). Koury also believed that affordable housing was more important to Montreal than adding a large-scale shopping center in an already bustling metropolis. One of Koury’s most popular arguments aimed to turn the issue on its head: the idea that increased housing would in fact attract more people to the city and thereby create a larger shopping demographic for local retailers. Koury’s efforts were effective and received significant local media attention. Mounting public pressure eventually forced the cancellation of the Marathon Realty project. In its place, the Mayor of Montreal, Jean Drapeau, appointed Allan as President of La Société des Terrains Angus (SOTAN) in 1989 to oversee the development of the largest housing project in Canada at the time. Under Koury's management the project was completed on time and nearly $1 million under budget -- a significant savings for the city of Montreal.

Political Life

Koury was elected in the 1988 federal election at the Hochelaga—Maisonneuve electoral district for the Progressive Conservative party. He served in the 34th Canadian Parliament under Brian Mulroney’s Progressive Conservative government.

Electoral record (partial)

Template:Canadian federal election, 1988/Electoral District/Hochelaga—Maisonneuve Sources: Report of the Chief Electoral Officer, Thirty-fourth General Election, 1988; Report of the Chief Electoral Officer Respecting Election Expenses, 1988.

Retirement Years

Koury’s retirement years were mostly spent with his family. He also honed his golf game and continued to work at Allan’s Men’s Wear on Masson Street in Montreal. Koury fought bouts with cancer in his final years and ultimately succumbed to the intense chemotherapy treatment on September 5, 2004.

Personal Life

In 1952 Koury married Diana (née Daher) and they had three children (Donna, Daniel and Nancy). They had one grandchild (Sean) born in 1981.

External links

• Allan Koury – Parliament of Canada biography
• "Political Passages" (PDF). Beyond the Hill. Canadian Association of Former Parliamentarians. Winter 2005. p. 20. Retrieved 2 December 2006.
• Redevelopment of the Angus Site
• Société de développement Angus