Labelle, Felix

Felix Labelle was born May 27, 1927 in Montreal, where he grew up in the Outremont neighbourhood, speaking both French and English.  Felix attended a boarding school in St-Vincent-de-Paul, and near the end of the war as a 17-year-old he began to look for work in war industry.  Not finding anything to his liking Felix enlisted in the army and went into training.  The war was winding down by that time, and Felix learned of the news while at dinner at his camp.  He and the other young men were soon discharged, though Felix chose to rejoin the reserves after the war.  An ad in the paper alerted him to this possibility, and he was intrigued by the Intelligence Corps especially.  The Cold War was underway by this time, and Felix’s task in the intelligence corps was to have conversations and interviews with people when he was directed to do so.  Felix served overseas in West Germany for a time, and he was stationed at Lahr as part of Canada’s NATO contingent.  Part of Felix’s job was to be on the lookout for Soviet espionage activity, and to interact with Canada’s NATO allies.  Felix was there for 5 years, and on his return to Canada he was involved in security clearance checks, ensuring the good conduct of those in government and military service.  Felix Labelle was interviewed by Scott Masters at his home in Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec in October 2025.