Winston McQuade: A Mind Full of Ideas

As a spokesperson for PROCURE, McQuade was part of the team that created the Bowvember bow tie, which is now sold to raise awareness of prostate cancer.

As an inspired and inspiring host and artist, McQuade has contributed to the field of communications through his radio and TV appearances and involvement in the arts. Today, he juggles several visual arts and communications projects that have great meaning for him. He’s living life to the fullest while encouraging people to take care of themselves!

Take care of your health before it’s too late! If this were 40 years ago, I’d tell you to throw your cigarettes out the window, but that’s littering. So I’ll tell you to put it out instead. Pay attention to what you eat and drink. I’m not saying that you can never eat out or have another glass of wine again, but it’s important to understand that we can’t treat our bodies like garbage dumps. Eventually, they’ll revolt because it’s not natural. I’d recommend eating right and doing some sort of physical activity: biking, yoga, a step machine, even just walking for 30 minutes per day. Going to the gym isn’t for everyone, and I know it can be hard to find the time, but definitely do some sort of exercise a few times a day. If you’re physically in shape and watch your health, the mental battle is that much easier. Support is also crucial. We need to look for information together and support each other. Once you hit 50, ask your doctor to do a blood test for prostate-specific antigens (PSAs) part of your annual checkup.

Yes, I’ve had problems. One of my ears is perfect, but I need to wear a hearing aid in the other. This is the second hearing aid I’ve had. It’s controlled by a computer and has several listening programs. For example, when I go to a concert, I can press on the hearing aid twice to expand its upper range, which allows me to hear the violins better. I highly recommend it. There’s nothing worse than having someone talking to me on my left side when I’m not wearing my hearing aid. I can’t hear them—if we’re walking together on the sidewalk, I have to ask them to switch sides. In a restaurant, there’s a lot of background noise: cutlery, whispers, people talking. It kind of muffles your hearing. I end up needing to read the lips of the person talking to me, even if I can sort of understand what they’re saying. I need to read their lips to confirm what I’m hearing. With a hearing aid, you don’t really need to do that. It’s still a habit to switch between looking at a person’s mouth and their eyes, though.

Yes. I’d say that the main difference is in the tools we have to bring our ideas to life. Look at the theatre of Robert Lepage, Denis Marleau, Dominique Champagne. We have ways to really illuminate their works that would have been extremely difficult, impossible even, in the 40s, 50s, or 60s. Technology has been a huge advantage for the theatre and visual arts alike. Obviously, we’re the TV generation, but the generations growing up now are children of technology. I find it so interesting that we’ve really integrated this way of bringing creations to life.

The achievements of technology in the movies are incredible. They work in front of green screens, they have sensors on the actors, and they can replicate them. They take one group of 10 people and create 100,000 people, like in Star Wars and movies like that. I find that so different and wonderful. It’s one of the key features of art: it’s always reinventing itself. It always adapts to fit new realities, too, and I’m not just talking about cultural realities. I’m talking about medicine, science, business… Business is nothing like it was. People study business, for example, and they leave with all of this knowledge and these tools. As entrepreneurs, it gives them the ability to become investors, yes, but they can also let their imaginations run wild and become something completely new. At the same time, there’s an increasing awareness of the environment and concern for future generations that wasn’t really there before. The mindset has changed. That’s what I mean by adaptation: it’s the ability we have as humans to adapt to change.

I’m a man of many projects. I always have been. It’s a timeless thing. I have art exhibits. They’re the result of quite a bit of work. I try to organize things so that I have both visual arts and communications projects going on. But the biggest difference is that I choose my projects now. I don’t wait for someone to come up to me and say, “Winston, would you be interested in…” Being a senior and having experienced a lot, it lets you start projects based on your own life experiences. With the help of a little imagination, of course. But at the same time, people start to realize that about you, and soon you’re only being approached for that. I won’t refuse an offer like the one I had for Alors on jase a few years ago, where I spent three years contributing to a show about intergenerational differences. I was able to contribute some interesting points of view, statements and topics. It’s still on my list. There are projects related to that going on right now. I’ve suggested things like Sex, Drugs and Arthritis. Let’s destroy taboos!

I’d say the fact that she was recently nominated for the Gala Artis (2016) for the first time. What’s interesting about that prize is that real people vote. The public votes. Public opinion of Pénélope is very good. We saw that when she was in an accident six years ago. We were receiving thousands of emails and messages wishing her well, even though healing and getting back on her feet took a long time because the accident was so serious. It allowed us to gauge the public opinion of her. And that was even before she moved to Radio-Canada. She was hosting Salut Bonjour Week-end then.

I’ll admit that for me, it was very touching when she came home. She pretty much grew up at Radio-Canada, because I was hosting radio and TV shows, and would bring her with me all the time. So she kind of spent a lot of time as a kid backstage at Radio-Canada. I spent nearly 35 years with Radio-Canada. When they offered Pénélope this project, which was named after her, I was so proud that we would be working together as professionals. It was an incredible moment. Over time, we’ve become serious partners. We discuss things together, we consult with each other.

Thank you, Mr. McQuade, for sharing your insights with us!