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Charles Rosner Bronfman, PC, CC, businessman and philanthropist (born 27 June 1931 in Montréal, QC). Bronfman was co-chairman of the Bronfman family business, Seagram, the world’s largest producer and distributor of distilled spirits. He also owned the Montreal Expos baseball club from 1968 to 1990. According to Forbes, Bronfman had an estimated net worth of over $2 billion (as of 2017) and was ranked the 16th wealthiest Canadian and 896th wealthiest person in the world. Bronfman is also a dedicated philanthropist. He established the CRB Foundation to promote study of Canadian and Jewish affairs, and co-founded and endowed the Historica Foundation of Canada, which later became Historica Canada (publisher of The Canadian Encyclopedia). He has disbursed approximately $325 million through Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies Inc. (ACBP) and private donations.

Mabel Gardiner Hubbard Bell, aeronautics financier, community leader, social reformer and advocate for the deaf (born 25 November 1857 in Cambridge, Massachusetts; died 3 January 1923 in Chevy Chase, Maryland). Bell actively supported and contributed to the work of her husband, inventor Alexander Graham Bell. Her financial investment in his work made her the first financier of the aviation industry in North America. She was a community leader in Baddeck, Nova Scotia, where the Bell family spent their summers. She was also a social reformer and supported innovation in education.

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Esdras Minville, professor and economist (born 7 November 1896 in Grande-Vallée, Quebec; died 9 December 1975 in Montreal, Quebec).An influential contributor to social and economic thought in Quebec in the 20^th century, Minville served as the Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences at the Université de Montréal and was the first French-Canadian to hold the position of Director at HEC Montréal. He was also the longest-serving Director at HEC, holding the position for 25 years from 1938 to 1962.

V. Prem Watsa, CM, businessman, investor (born 7 August 1950, in Hyderabad, India). Watsa emerged from modest beginnings to found and develop one of the most prominent financial holding companies in Canada, Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd., of which he is chairman and chief executive officer. Fairfax is engaged in property and casualty insurance and reinsurance, as well as investment management. Among the companies Fairfax either owns, or owns enough shares to give it controlling interest, are Sporting Life, William Ashley, and Prime Restaurants, which has many chains including East Side Mario’s. Fairfax also has investments and owns insurance and other companies in Canada, the United States, Great Britain, Brazil, Poland, Malaysia, Singapore, Barbados and Hong Kong. In 2016, it had revenues of $12.3 billion and held $58.3 billion in assets. Watsa is sometimes called Canada’s Warren Buffett for his shrewd investment practices. According to Forbes, he had an estimated net worth of over $1.08 billion (as of 2017) and was ranked the 31st wealthiest Canadian.

Filmmaking is a powerful form of cultural and artistic expression, as well as a highly profitable commercial enterprise. From a practical standpoint, filmmaking is a business involving large sums of money and a complex division of labour. This labour is involved, roughly speaking, in three sectors: production, distributionand exhibition. The history of the Canadian film industry has been one of sporadic achievement accomplished in isolation against great odds. Canadian cinema has existed within an environment where access to capital for production, to the marketplace for distribution and to theatres for exhibition has been extremely difficult. The Canadian film industry, particularly in English Canada, has struggled against the Hollywood entertainment monopoly for the attention of an audience that remains largely indifferent toward the domestic industry. The major distribution and exhibition outlets in Canada have been owned and controlled by foreign interests. The lack of domestic production throughout much of the industry’s history can only be understood against this economic backdrop.

This article is one of four that surveys the history of the film industry in Canada. The entire series includes: Canadian Film History: 1896 to 1938; Canadian Film History: 1939 to 1973; Canadian Film History: 1974 to Present; Canadian Film History: Regional Cinema and Auteurs, 1980 to Present.

Conrad Moffat Black, Lord Black of Crossharbour, newspaper publisher, author, columnist and historian (born 25 August 1944 in Montreal, QC). Conrad Black owned and published a large network of newspapers in Canada and abroad between 1969 and 2004. He was convicted of mail fraud and obstruction of justice in 2007 and served a prison sentence in the United States. However, Black was pardoned for his convictions in 2019 by US president Donald Trump. He is a well-known author and columnist on history and politics.

Miles Gilbert (Tim) Horton, hockey player, entrepreneur (born 12 January 1930 in Cochrane, ON; died 17 February 1974 in St. Catharines, ON).

Kenneth Roy Thomson, businessman, newspaper proprietor, art collector and philanthropist (b at Toronto 1 Sep 1923; d there 12 Jun 2006).

Brandeis Denham Jolly, C.M., teacher, entrepreneur, publisher, broadcaster, philanthropist, civil rights activist, community leader (born 26 August 1935 in Industry Cove, Jamaica). Jolly began his business career by purchasing and operating rooming houses and nursing homes. He later purchased and became the publisher of Contrast, a Black community newspaper in Toronto and established FLOW 93.5, the first Black-owned radio station and the first station in Canada to showcase Black music and the stories of the Black community. Jolly also was involved with or founded and led community groups — such as the Black Action Defence Committee — that sought to end police violence targeting young Black men. Jolly also contributed generously to several causes including scholarships for promising young Black Canadians.

Manzo Nagano, businessman (born 26 November 1853 in Kuchinotsu [Minamishimabara], Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan; died May 1924 in Kuchinotsu [Minamishimabara], Nagasaki Prefecture). Manzo Nagano is the first known Japanese immigrant to Canada. In March 1877, at age 24, he left Japan for the West aboard a British steamer, arriving in May in British Columbia. He eventually settled in Victoria, where he ran a number of businesses. He returned to Japan in failing health in 1923, and died the following year.