Main building of the Université de Montréal, by Ernest Cormier

Ernest Cormier (December 5, 1885-January 1, 1980) was a Quebec engineer and architect who spent much of his career in the Montreal area, erecting notable examples of Art Deco and International style architecture. He first graduated as an engineer from Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal and then studied at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris where he received the Prix de Rome in 1914.

His major work is the central building of the Université de Montréal on the North slope of Mount Royal. This huge example of the Art Deco style was built between World War I and the middle of World War II and kept in a nearly pristine shape over the decades. The only major destruction of his designs took place within the interior spaces. They occurred in the 1970s when the great multistory hall of the central library was filled up with several smaller, one story rooms for the faculty of medicine and its library.

He is also responsible for the Supreme Court of Canada building in Ottawa.

In addition to showing a great balance, in most of his buildings, between the disciplines of engineering and architecture, Cormier also had great skills as a painter and illustrator. He has left us many stunning renderings of his works, done in the planning stages.

In 1974, Cormier was inducted into the Order of Canada by Governor General Jules Léger, and received numerous honours and awards.