Offered for the first time this year, the award addresses all design disciplines. The recipient will receive an award of $10,000 as well as a trophy.

Mandated by the IDM, the School of Industrial Design of the Université de Montréal supervised the Sam Lapointe Award selection process.

The final selection of the winner was performed by a jury composed of the eight following members:

- Michel Branchaud, President of the jury,
Vice-president of Société d’énergie de la Baie James;
- Diane Bisson, Assistant Professor,
School of Insdustrial Design, Université de Montréal;
- Paul Bourassa, Curator,
Decorative Arts and Design, Musée du Québec;
- Gretta Chambers, Journalist and Governor Emeritus,
McGill University;
- David Covo, Professor,
Department of Architecture, McGill University;
- Albert Leclerc, Director,
School of Insdustrial Design, Université de Montréal;
- Martin Racine, Visiting Professor,
Concordia University;
- Nelu Wolfensohn, Professor, Graphic Design,
École de design, Université du Québec à Montréal.

Observers:
Philippe Montel, General Director of the Fondation J. Armand Bombardier and Helen Stavridou, Executive Director of the Institute.

The jury members’ evaluation of the candidates’ careers was based on the following criteria: the innovative character, the vitality and the design quality of the creations; the exceptional nature of the contribution to economic development and to the enhancement of Quebec design; the continuity, timeliness and the influence of the career or the work.

Sam Lapointe (1933-1999)
Anselme Lapointe, Sam to his friends, graduated from the École des Beaux-Arts de Québec in 1954. After a few years devoted to a multidisciplinary practice of his trade, he founded his own design firm. At the end of the 60s, the president of Bombardier Inc. offered him the position of director of the design group. He held this position until 1978 and remained designer/consultant until 1998.

At Bombardier, Sam Lapointe contributed to the development of several products, inter alia the Ski-Doo snowmobiles from 1966 to 1993. His design expertise, combined with good management sense, left an indelible mark on the Quebec design community. Among his many honours, Sam Lapointe earned the Design Canada Excellence award in 1984. Mr. Lapointe passed away on February 2, 1999.