Born in Loretteville, Quebec, Mitsou is the granddaughter of Quebec actor Gratien Gélinas. She got involved in acting and modelling as a child, but also began to pursue singing in her teenage years. In 1988, she signed with Canadian independent Isba Records and released her first single, "Bye Bye Mon Cowboy" (composed and produced by Jean-Pierre Isaac), which became a smash pop hit across Canada (an extremely rare feat for a francophone song). Later that year, she followed with her debut, multicultural-themed album, El Mundo which also spawned the singles "La Corrida" and "Les Chinois". "Bye Bye Mon Cowboy" was later remixed by Shep Pettibone and re-released for the American market with a new video.

In 1897 Desjardins became increasingly concerned with the problem of usury and undertook three years of careful research and correspondence with the founders of cooperative savings and credit movements in Europe. On December 6, 1900 Desjardins and his wife, Dorimène Roy Desjardins, co-founded the first Caisse d'épargne Desjardins in Lévis and opened for business the following month. Later renamed Caisses populaires Desjardins (and today Desjardins Group), the organization was a forerunner of current North American credit unions.

Soon Molson’s beer was in such demand that according to one of his diary entries "Cannot serve half my customers and they are increasing every day." One of the major reasons for this was the wide appeal of his beer to different classes of Montreal society. High British officers had been drinking imported London porters and the city merchants preferred Bristol. Yet Molson’s beer was special as it was ‘universally liked’ (a quote from Molson’s diary). Molson soon began attending church. It was here that he met many influential and wealthy businessmen like fur trader James McGill, Joseph Frobisher, founder of the North West Company, and Alexander Mackenzie.