ALLAN DE LA PLANTE

Sixty-three years ago, two ‘highly hormonal’ teenagers met during a dance at Alma College, a private girl’s school in St. Thomas Ontario.

A friendship that turned lifelong was struck when I advised the other guy to stay away from the fruit punch. His response was, “Why?”

I told him it contained saltpeter and explained it ‘reduces male libido.’ The guy I was educating was Allan de la Plante, from North Bay, Ontario. His date was from Sault Ste. Marie. My date was from Lima, Peru where her father owned a brewery!! Let the story begin.

Our futures took different paths, but at the end of the day, we were both seriously involved in the automotive field, in one form or another. Al de la Plante took a route that very few people would ever be able to emulate.

He embarked on a career that saw him develop into a world-class photographer. In the early ‘70s, he covered the very popular Canada-Russia hockey series for the National Sport and Recreation Centre.

At roughly the same time, he created the First Canadian Gallery of Athletes, a collection of 59 portraits of the top Canadian athletes of the time. It was commissioned by the Bank of Montreal.

His star kept rising when he became a principal Canadian photographer at the 1976 Summer Olympic Games, in Montreal.

During the winter of 1976, he joined World Freestyle Champion Greg Athans to shoot Athans’ book ‘Ski Free.’ Since 1970, he had been covering motor racing during the summer and ski racing in the winter.

He called me one day and said he was coming through London (ON). He needed a place to park his motorhome for a few days while he did some shooting. The motorhome, emblazoned with the colours and logo of the Bank of Montreal, had been rented by the bank.

“No problem… come on down!!” The friendship continued.

Struck A Deal With Villeneuve

His motorsports photography was attracting a lot of attention. One very talented up and coming open-wheel star was very interested in his work. That star was none other than Gilles Villeneuve, who was busy making a name for himself in the feeder series to Indy and F1, known as Formula Atlantic. He won that championship in 1976.

At Trois-Rivières during an Atlantic race, Villeneuve soundly trounced soon to be World Champion James Hunt. Upon hearing about this race through Hunt, Teddy Meyer of McLaren recognized this talent and of- fered him a Formula One ride in a McLaren for the British Grand Prix in 1977. A fiverace deal was struck.

The deal with McLaren fizzled as McLaren felt Gilles was too expensive with his propensity to ‘bend’ cars. Villeneuve was again looking for a ride.

Enzo Ferrari, with an incredible eye for talent, went after Gilles and signed him to drive for the ‘Prancing Horse’ beginning in 1977 at the Canadian Grand Prix, at Mosport. Villeneuve replaced Niki Lauda. Al and Gilles had struck a deal, when they first met, regarding both their futures. Al went along for the ride. He was now recognized as Gilles’ photographer.

In 1978, the Canadian Grand Prix was held on a new circuit on an island in the St. Lawrence River, where it snaked through Montreal. What better way to celebrate this new race circuit than having a French-Canadian driver win the Canadian Grand Prix, albeit in an Italian car?

Linda and I attended that race in our motorhome. I still have nightmares of sleeping under the Champlain Bridge that shook, creaked, rattled and sounded like it was going to crash down on top of our motorhome.

While the race was underway, I caught glimpses of Al moving about getting the best angles for his magnificent photos. The relationship between Gilles and Al continued until the tragic, untimely death of Villeneuve in the Belgian Grand Prix at Zolder on May 8, 1982.

The entire racing community and many, many Canadians were in complete shock and disbelief. Al was in total shock. Through Gaston Parent, Gilles and Allan’s mentor, a book was produced simply and concisely titled ‘Villeneuve!’

Not one to sit still, Al continued with his photographic career and got the rights to document the 1984 Canadian tour of Pope John Paul II. He produced ‘Celebrate Our Faith’ about the Pope’s Canadian tour.

More books ensued, including ‘Flame of Courage the Canadian Firefighter,’ piqued by his work with the Ottawa Fire Department. To research his ‘fire book,’ Al travelled Canada visiting fire halls from coast-to-coast. That book is considered to be the definitive work about firefighting in Canada and is popular in many countries.

In 1996, Al launched Villeneuve: A Racing Legend. The new book included a fully interactive CDROM that permitted Gilles to tell much of his story. The book achieved the bronze medal in the New Invision Awards for publishing. Soon after the book’s release, Canada Post commissioned two Villeneuve stamps using Al’s images.

Interestingly, Al had discovered horse racing in the early 2000s, and just like that, he became the ‘go to guy’ for exceptional horse racing photos. He also shoots for the BC Lions football team. His timing is unmatched.

He reminds me very much of another photographer and Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame inductee, Dave Franks, who can also walk up to any NASCAR or other race track and be welcomed with open arms. Al can do the same with many sports. What a great legacy this man has stamped onto the ethos of the racing community in Canada!

Al and his wife Angela live in Vancouver and are semi-retired. Although he still gets the camera out to shoot cars, horse racing and pro football. Like me, Al has a grandson involved in kart racing, who he follows when- ever he gets back to Ontario.

In 2022, Al was finally inducted into the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame. I was honoured to play a role in his nomination. He also has received many awards, including but not limited to, induction into the North Bay Sports Hall of Fame and the 2022 Sovereign Award. The latter is for taking the year’s most outstanding image in the Canadian equine world.

Al de la Plante a man who had a dream and was lucky enough to have actually lived that dream. Even better, he’s still living it. He’s a world-class photographer, author, painter and bon vivant! IT

By John Waldie