The induction of the Just for Laughs/Just for Laughs Group on the Canadian Walk of Fame will be celebrated on Wednesday in Montreal during a ceremony during which the company will be presented with a commemorative plaque that it will install in the city.

The Montreal-based company officially entered Canada’s Walk of Fame at a gala event where its “star” to be engraved on one of Toronto’s theater sidewalks was unveiled last December.

Since 2017, new inductees now have the opportunity to mark the occasion in their hometown as well with a public celebration that includes the unveiling of a second “star” — a replica of the first — to be installed in their homes.

For the Just for Laughs Group, this special event will be held Wednesday afternoon in a hotel near the Quartier des Spectacles, when its biggest comedy festival is in full swing until July 29 in Montreal.

The ceremony, hosted by comedian Rachid Badouri, will take place in the presence of representatives of the City of Montreal and the Canadian Walk of Fame.

The location of the special plaque, given out under the “One Star From Here” initiative, is yet to be determined.

“We have to finalize the location with the City of Montreal and the Quartier des Spectacles,” said Just for Laughs Group President and CEO Charles Décarie in an interview.

He specifies that the discussions must continue after the end of the festival.

The Just for Laughs Group is the second Quebec company to be part of Canada’s Walk of Fame, after Cirque du Soleil, which won this honor in 2002.

In the eyes of Mr. Décarie, this induction is a form of recognition of the contribution of the Montreal festival to the world of humor, whether on stage or in the media, as well as its notoriety.

“It’s a way of confirming that what the artists are saying about the Just for Laughs Group and the festival, there’s someone else who comes along with their voice, which is to say that it’s It’s the place to be when you’re in comedy,” mentioned the CEO.

The Canadian Walk of Fame also recognizes all the expertise abroad of the Just for Laughs Group, which organizes dozens of comedy shows around the world, says Mr. Décarie.

“It’s not only to have launched dozens, dozens, even hundreds of careers of artists or to have contributed to positioning Montreal as the center of comedy, but to have been able to export this know-how in major cities around the world,” he said.

To illustrate his point, Mr. Décarie mentions that the Group organizes a professional conference during the festival, which is attended by representatives of the television industry from the United States and Toronto to identify talent and observe trends in humor.

In addition, foreign television channels and streaming platforms capture French and English content from the shows for their network.

This demonstrates that Just for Laughs is “a source of talent and innovation in humor”, argued Mr. Décarie.

As part of its induction, the Just for Laughs Group also received $10,000, which it decided to donate to Welcome Hall Mission.

Several other Quebecers have also been inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame, including Celine Dion, Maurice Richard and Denys Arcand.

Retired senator and lieutenant-general Roméo Dallaire was also inducted in 2021. A special ceremony, like that for the Just for Laughs Group, will be held Thursday in eastern Montreal.

Canada’s Walk of Fame, which celebrates the impact of Canadian accomplishments, has inducted more than 200 people over the past 25 years.