Born in
Pakistan to a
Roman Catholic family, his family immigrated to Canada when he was a teenager. Alan DeSousa has lived in Saint-Laurent for over 35 years. He is married to Florence Beaudet and has two sons, Martin and Victor. DeSousa completed a
Bachelor of Commerce from
McGill University in 1981. DeSousa also graduated from
Vanier College in 1978 with a Commerce degree. By profession DeSousa is a
chartered accountant. In 1984, he was named to the
Ordre des comptables agréés du Québec, and in 2005 was given the honorary title of
Fellow. He has previously served as
Vice-President, Corporate Finance, of
BioChem Pharma, and has worked at
Ernst & Young as an expert on corporate and international taxation. Prior to its merger with Montreal, DeSousa was a city councillor with the former city of Saint-Laurent since 1990. In November 2001, he became borough mayor of Saint-Laurent, a position that he has retained for five consecutive terms. He serves on Montreal's Executive Committee, with the responsibility of sustainable development. In 2004, economic development was added to his responsibilities. ==References==