Montreal Book Fair: “Gino is like a friend, a brother,” confide a mother and her daughter who came to the Salon expressly to meet Gino Chouinard

First in the queue for the Gino Chouinard signing booth, a mother and her daughter arrived early at the Montreal Book Fair on Wednesday morning with the sole purpose of declaring their love for the former host of Hi Hello.

Sophie Jalbert, 69, and her 44-year-old daughter, Marie-Hélène Alie, left Laval and Terrebonne respectively to go see their idol, Gino Chouinard, in the flesh. The girl had even taken time off from work to experience this great moment with her mother, a long-time admirer of the ex-host and author of the book 3,800 mornings.

« Hi Hello, it was my morning show. I watched it for 20 years, it rocked our every day. I didn’t miss it, even when it started at 6 a.m.,” says Sophie Jalbert.

“Gino, he’s like a friend, a brother,” she replies when asked to explain her affection for the presenter.

This also made him shed a few tears when he announced his departure from the morning show.

“It was almost heartbreak,” says the girl, looking at her mother.

“It made me sad. I don’t have to talk about it, I’m going to cry again… I loved his personality, his charisma, he’s a super fine and simple guy. I would have confided in him,” continues Sophie Jalbert with moist eyes.

In his hands, the book 3,800 mornings by Gino Chouinard has already been read and is full of passages highlighted in yellow. These are extracts that she finds important, touching or comical and places that she promises to visit one day.

“We’re going to tell him that we love him, we’re not here for nothing,” adds Sophie Jalbert, who was counting the days on her calendar Hi Hello since the announcement of the presence of his idol at the Montreal Book Fair.

Like mother like daughter, Marie-Hélène Alie has in her hand a little paper cheat sheet of subjects that she wants to discuss with Gino Chouinard; from his most interesting interviews, to the most touching moments and the passages that made him laugh the most in his book 3800 mornings.

-The Montreal Book Fair continues until Sunday at the Palais des Congrès