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Already a partner of the Universit� de Sherbrooke during its two preceding major fund-raising campaigns, BMO Financial Group is solidifying its support by contributing $500,000 to the university's Ensemble Campaign. At an event held at CHUS, the Universit� de Sherbrooke hospital centre, Patricia Gauthier, Director General of CHUS, and Martin Buteau, Vice-Principal, Academic, at the Universit� de Sherbrooke, were pleased to accept, on behalf of the partner institutions, this new investment in education and health care, which was presented by Nicole M�nard, Regional Vice-President, BMO Bank of Montreal.

Ms. M�nard noted that BMO Financial Group's contribution will support both CHUS and the Universit� de Sherbrooke and be used, among other things, to create a BMO Financial Group scholarship fund for deserving master's and doctoral students. “Our donation will go toward meeting priority needs of both institutions,” Ms. M�nard said. “It demonstrates our desire to promote excellence and the pursuit of higher education as well as the quality of research and treatment provided by CHUS to patients who come from across Quebec to take advantage of its range of specialized services.” Ms. M�nard also mentioned that BMO's $500,000 contribution is in addition to the $180,000 already pledged to Charles LeMoyne Hospital and its breast cancer clinic.

“BMO Financial Group's generous contribution will be dedicated to the creation of the Centre Femme Jeunesse Famille, an innovative project for thinking about and taking action in health care,” said Patricia Gauthier, Director General of CHUS. “Based on a more human approach, this major project will bring together perinatality and women's health services as well as services for newborns to 18-year-olds with physical or mental health problems. We offer our sincere thanks to BMO for this investment dedicated to the wellness of individuals and their families as well as to the future of our youth.”

The Universit� de Sherbrooke's Vice-Principal, Academic, was delighted to set the seal on the third partnership with the financial institution in as many major campaigns. “I want to thank BMO Financial Group for its unwavering support and its new initiative, which encourages our students to embark on bold research projects and supports them in their work. It will enable us to set aside for them a creative space that favours the advancement of knowledge in ways that will have an impact on our community's social, cultural and economic development.”

Under its honorary chairman, Henri-Paul Rousseau, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Caisse de d�p�t et placement du Qu�bec, the Ensemble Campaign joins together five health care and educational institutions, namely the Universit� de Sherbrooke, Centre hospitalier universitaire de Sherbrooke (CHUS), Centre de sant� et services sociaux – Institut universitaire de g�riatrie de Sherbrooke, Charles LeMoyne Hospital in Longueuil and the S�minaire de Sherbrooke. Such cooperation among educational and health care institutions is unprecedented in Quebec.

Since its founding in 1817 as Bank of Montreal, BMO Financial Group has supported the principles of reinvestment in and corporate responsibility to the communities it serves. In 2005, BMO Financial Group contributed $29.5 million in corporate donations, sponsorships and events in Canada, supporting thousands of communities, charities and not-for-profit organizations across the country. BMO was also named Canada's Best Corporate Citizen for 2005 by Corporate Knights. BMO Bank of Montreal operates 159 branches in Quebec and BMO Nesbitt Burns has 17 offices in the province.

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