Gabriel Filion was born in Québec City, and at an early age, moved with his French parents to Ottawa. By living in a bilingual environment, he was able to develop a thorough understanding of both English and French.

"My grandmother used to own a remarkably successful tutoring company, providing English lessons to the residents of Québec. Her techniques were very effective in teaching people the language fast. I've taken her example by using the same pragmatic techniques, but applied to French."