Minda Bronfman de Gunzburg
Aileen Mindel (Minda) Bronfman de Gunzburg, philanthropist (born 4 March 1925 in Montreal, QC; died 1 July 1985 in Paris, France).
Signing up enhances your TCE experience with the ability to save items to your personal reading list, and access the interactive map.
Create AccountAileen Mindel (Minda) Bronfman de Gunzburg, philanthropist (born 4 March 1925 in Montreal, QC; died 1 July 1985 in Paris, France).
Eric Lafferty Harvie, oilman, philanthropist (b at Orillia, Ont 2 Apr 1892; d at Calgary 11 Jan 1975). Harvie was called to the Alberta Bar in 1915. He served overseas in WWI, was wounded in France and achieved the rank of captain.
Alain Stanké (Born Kaunas, Lithuania 1934). Alain Stanké, whose real name was Aloyzas-Vytas Stakevicius, was deported to a German concentration camp at the age of ten, and then emigrated to Paris complete his studies.
When asked why she gives her money away, 86-year-old Anne Tanenbaum avoids grand pronouncements. Instead, she shrugs her shoulders and tells a story, inflected with just a hint of her native New York City accent.
André Chagnon, OC, O.Q., entrepreneur and philanthropist (born 17 March 1928 in Montreal, Quebec; died 8 October 2022 in Vaudreuil-Dorion). Trained as an electrician, André Chagnon created Télécâble Vidéotron Ltée in 1964 (see Cable Television). Under his leadership, the company became one of the most successful telecommunications companies, not only in Quebec but Canada-wide. He also established a charitable organization, the Lucie and André Chagnon Foundation. André Chagnon has been recognized as one of the most dynamic and innovative businessmen of his generation.
Lillian Freiman (née Bilsky), OBE, benefactor, community activist, organizer, civic leader and Zionist (born 6 June 1885 in Mattawa, ON; died 2 November 1940 in Montreal, QC). Lillian Freiman used her high social status and wealth to help those less fortunate, both within and beyond the Jewish community. For her work assisting First World War soldiers and leading the Poppy Campaign, the Canadian Legion made her an honorary life member in 1933. Freiman was the first woman to receive this honour.
Luce Cuvillier, businesswoman and philanthropist (born 12 June 1817 in Montréal, QC; died 28 March 1900 in Montréal).
Mihal (Mike) Lazaridis, OC, O Ont, FRS, entrepreneur, business executive, philanthropist (born 14 March 1961 in Istanbul, Turkey).
Jules-André Brillant, businessman, entrepreneur and philanthropist (born 30 July 1888 in Assemetquahan, QC; died 11 May 1973 in Mont-Joli, QC).
Joseph Louis Rotman, OC, MSC, businessman and philanthropist (born 6 January 1935 in Toronto, ON; died 27 January 2015 in Toronto). Rotman was a prominent businessman who was active in oil trading, oil and gas exploration, merchant banking, real estate and venture capital investment. Later in life, he became a notable philanthropist with a focus on education, the arts and health care. The Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto and the Rotman Institute of Philosophy at Western University both bear his name.
Marie Ginette Jeanne Lise Watier, OC, OQ, businesswoman (born 8 November 1944 in Montreal, QC). Lise Watier is the founder of the company Lise Watier Cosmétiques, launched in 1972. She left the management of the company and retired in 2013 to focus on her foundation, the Lise Watier Foundation. She received many awards and distinctions throughout her career.
Eugene O'Keefe, brewer, banker, philanthropist (born 10 December 1827 in Bandon, Ireland; died 1 October 1913 in Toronto, ON).
Leon Joseph Koerner, lumberman, philanthropist (b at Nový Hrozenkov, Austria-Hungary [Czechoslovakia] 24 May 1892; d at Vancouver 26 Sept 1972).
Pierre Karl Péladeau (nicknamed PKP), Canadian entrepreneur and businessman who was instrumental in bringing about the rapid growth of Quebecor (born 16 October 1961 in Montréal, QC). He was the president and chief executive officer of Quebecor for 14 years, from 1999 to 2013. In the Québec provincial election held on 7 April 2014, Péladeau ran as a candidate for the Parti Québécois and won his riding. On 15 May 2015, he became the eighth leader in the history of this political party.
Descendants of Russian immigrant tobacco farmer Yechiel (Ekiel) Bronfman and his wife, Mindel, members of the Bronfman family have owned and controlled huge financial empires built from the profits of the family liquor business (see Seagram). The best-known members of the family are Samuel Bronfman, founder of Seagram and president of the Canadian Jewish Congress (1939–62), and his descendants. Samuel’s wife, Saidye Rosner Bronfman, was an influential philanthropist who supported the arts in Canada and was awarded the Order of the British Empire for organizing work on the home front during the Second World War. Sons Edgar and Charles Bronfman ran Seagram for decades, while grandson Edgar Miles Bronfman Jr. oversaw the sale of Seagram to Vivendi. Charles was also co-founder of the Historica Foundation of Canada and Heritage Minutes, as well as chairman and principal owner of the Montreal Expos. His sister Phyllis Lambert is a well-known architect who founded the Canadian Centre for Architecture. Their cousins, Edward and Peter Bronfman (sons of Allan Bronfman), developed a financial empire in their own right. The family has given generously to several charitable organizations and been involved in the Canadian Jewish Congress and World Jewish Congress.
Gerald Wilfred Schwartz, OC, business executive (born 24 November 1941 in Winnipeg, MB). Gerry Schwartz is the founder, chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Toronto-based Onex Corporation, one of Canada’s largest private equity firms. A successful long-term investor, he has overseen major business deals in more than three decades at the head of Onex. Schwartz was one of 45 Canadians to make the Forbes list of billionaires in 2019, with the magazine estimating his net worth at US $1.6 billion. He has donated millions of dollars to universities, hospitals, charities and cultural organizations.
Click here for definitions of key terms used in this article.
Adam Hartley Zimmerman, OC, FCA, lumber and mining executive, philanthropist, and prolific board member (born 19 February 1927 in Toronto, ON; died 19 October 2016 in Toronto, ON). Zimmerman studied at the Royal Canadian Naval College from 1944 to 1946, and then at Trinity College, University of Toronto, earning a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy in 1950. He became a chartered accountant in 1956. In 1958, Zimmerman began his career in the resource industry with Noranda Mines Ltd., rising to president and CEO by 1982. He sat on more than forty public and private boards, including Toronto-Dominion Bank, Confederation Life and the C.D. Howe Institute.
Emanuele “Lino” Saputo, CM, OQ, businessman, dairy and cheese industrialist, philanthropist (born 10 June 1937 in Montelepre, Italy). Lino Saputo emerged from modest beginnings to develop one of the most prominent dairy companies in Canada — Saputo — now with operations in the United States, Argentina and Australia. His influence and family name is found throughout Montreal, Quebec, including on the Saputo Stadium, home of CF Montréal a professional soccer team that plays in Major League Soccer (MLS). His family is routinely listed among the wealthiest Canadians, reaching number three in 2017.
James Laurence (Jim) Balsillie, co-CEO of Research In Motion, business executive, chartered professional accountant, philanthropist (born 3 February 1961 in Seaforth, ON). Balsillie is best known as the former chairman and co-CEO of Research In Motion, the Waterloo, Ontario, company now known as BlackBerry. He is also a major philanthropist and the founder of numerous non-profit organizations, including the Arctic Research Foundation (which found one of the lost Franklin ships in 2016), the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, the Balsillie School of International Affairs and the Centre for International Governance Innovation. An avid hockey fan, Balsillie tried on three separate occasions to purchase an NHL team and move it to Hamilton, Ontario.
Richard (Dick) Macauley Ivey, CC, QC, lawyer, businessperson and philanthropist (born 26 October 1925 in London, ON; died 28 December 2019 in Toronto, ON). Richard M. Ivey had a long career as a corporate lawyer and business executive, but he is best known for his philanthropy. Working through his family’s Ivey Foundation, he supported education, medicine and the arts, in particular. The name of the world-renowned Ivey Business School at Western University recognizes his and his family members’ contributions to the university.