Born in Lamèque, in northeastern New Brunswick, Albert Sormany attended the Collège Sacré-Cour in Caraquet before going on to study medicine at Université Laval in Québec City. He would practise medicine in Edmundston for more than 50 years.

Dr. Sormany was very active in all Acadian nationalist movements. Together with Maximilien Cormier, a lawyer, he founded the newspaper Le Madawaska. Dr. Sormany was mayor of Edmundston in 1914 and 1915 and chairman of the school board from 1940 to 1949. A founding member of the local Richelieu Club, Sormany took part in all the activities of the organization and wrote a weekly newsletter.

Dr. Sormany devoted a great deal of his time and energy to helping his fellow citizens. Among other things, he served as president of the Société Mutuelle l'Assomption for 24 years.

In 1922, he founded a study group whose main objective was "to examine the education system and take steps to improve it." [Translation] The group soon became known as the Petite Boutique. Dr. Sormany also played a major role in promoting French-language education, not just in Edmundston, but across the province. In the 1940s, when a group of militants established the Association acadienne d'éducation, they chose Dr. Sormany as president.

Dr. Sormany's contribution to the community of Edmundston and Acadia as a whole was acknowledged on many occasions. He received several honorary PhDs, which are awarded by universities to individuals having distinguished themselves through their achievements or dedication. The Société nationale de l'Acadie honoured him in 1961 with its Ordre du mérite et de la fidélité acadienne.