Search for ""

Roger Frappier left the NFB in 1986 and founded Max Films with Pierre Gendron, producing Jean-Claude LAUZON's Un Zoo La Nuit in 1987; it won a record 13 Genie Awards.

Byron Ingemar Johnson, "Boss," businessman, politician, premier of BC 1947-52 (b at Victoria 10 Dec 1890; d there 12 Jan 1964). After service in WWI, Johnson and his brothers formed a building supply company in Victoria. Elected as a Liberal in Victoria in 1933, he was defeated in 1937.

Russell Francis Baker, bush pilot, businessman (b at Winnipeg 31 Jan 1910; d at West Vancouver 15 Nov 1958).

Andrew Graham, fur trader (b probably near Edinburgh, Scot c 1733; d at Prestonpans, Scot 8 Sept 1815). Graham worked for the Hudson's Bay Company at Churchill, York Factory and Ft Severn (1749-75).

Ernest Leo Kolber, OC, businessman, philanthropist, senator (born 18 January 1929 in Montreal, QC; died 9 January 2020 in Montreal). Leo Kolber was a pillar of Canada’s business, political and philanthropic communities for more than 50 years. He was perhaps best known as a long-time advisor to the Bronfman family. Kolber also ran the successful real estate firm Cadillac Fairview Corporation, as well as holding companies that administered the Bronfman family trust. He served in the Senate of Canada from 1983 to 2004, most notably as chairman of the Standing Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce. He was also the Liberal Party’s chief fundraiser for many years and chair of the Advisory Council on National Security from 2005 to 2007. An Officer of the Order of Canada, he was recognized for his many charitable and philanthropic contributions.

Edgar Fosburgh Kaiser Jr., entrepreneur, merchant banker, philanthropist (born 5 July 1942 in Portland, Oregon; died 11 January 2012 in Toronto, ON).

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.

Anthony Dalton (Tony) Scott, OC, FRSC, economist (born 2 August 1923 in Vancouver, BC; died 17 February 2015 in Vancouver). Scott made pioneering contributions to the economics of natural resource use and management. 

​Lawrence “Larry” Murray Tanenbaum, O.C., businessman, sports executive, philanthropist (born 8 July 1945 in Toronto, ON). Larry Tanenbaum is best known for his position as chair of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, the company that owns four major league sports teams: the Toronto FC, Maple Leafs, Raptors and Argonauts. His career has also spanned the worlds of finance, construction, politics and philanthropy. He is a prominent figure in Toronto and Canada’s Jewish community.

Michael John Savage, businessman, politician, mayor of Halifax, 2012 to present (born 13 May 1960 in Belfast, Northern Ireland). Savage, whose father was premier of Nova Scotia in the 1990s, served as a member of Parliament before becoming mayor of the Halifax Regional Municipality.

Brandt Louie, business tycoon, philanthropist (born 5 July 1943 in Vancouver, BC). Louie is the president of the H.Y. Louie Company, a business started by his grandfather in 1903 that now includes London Drugs Ltd. and the IGA grocery store chain. In 2017, Louie was listed as Canada’s 47th richest person in Canadian Business magazine’s annual ranking, with an estimated fortune of $2.1 billion. Louie is a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal and a Member of the Order of British Columbia.

​Rana Sarkar, strategy consultant, business pundit, entrepreneur (born January 1971 in Calcutta, India). Formerly the president and CEO of the Canada-India Business Council, Sarkar is currently the national director for high growth markets at KPMG Canada, and co-chairman of the advisory board and a senior fellow at the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto. In 2011, he ran an unsuccessful campaign as the Liberal candidate in the federal riding of Scarborough-Rouge River.

​Victor Li, business tycoon (born 1 August 1964 in British Hong Kong), studied at Stanford University in California earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil and structural engineering. He is the son of business tycoon Li Ka-shing, Hong Kong’s richest man, who has a net worth of US$31.8 billion, according to Forbes (March 2017). Li is best known in Canadian business circles as the co-chairman of Calgary-based Husky Energy, and also for his attempt to bail out Air Canada in 2004. He currently serves as the chairman of CKI, an infrastructure conglomerate with holdings in Canada, Europe, Asia, New Zealand and Australia. Li holds citizenship in both Canada and China.

Martin Weinberg, CSC, CFA, entrepreneur, business executive (born 1961 in Winnipeg, MB).

Elsie Marie Knott (née Taylor), Ojibwe chief, community leader, entrepreneur (born 20 September 1922 on Mud Lake Reserve [now Curve Lake First Nation], ON; died there on 3 December 1995). Knott was the first elected female First Nations chief in Canada, after a 1951 amendment to the Indian Act permitted Indigenous women to vote and participate in band governments. She was also chief of her First Nation for 14 years, from 1954 to 1962 and from 1970 to 1976. Knott was dedicated to preserving the Ojibwe language and was known for her community activism and support of education.

Saidye Rosner Bronfman, OBE, community leader, philanthropist (born 9 December 1896 in Plum Coulee, MB; died 6 July 1995 in Montreal, QC). Saidye Bronfman was a leader in the Jewish community who generously supported the arts and various charities. She received the Order of the British Empire for her work with the Red Cross during the Second World War. Saidye and her husband, Samuel Bronfman, drew from their fortune in the liquor business to create a foundation that continues to fund community groups today.

Mabel Frances Timlin, OC, FRSC, economist, professor (born 6 December 1891 in Forest Junction, Wisconsin; died 19 September 1976 in Saskatoon, SK). Timlin was an influential economist best known for her interpretation of Keynesian economics. Although she became a professor relatively late in her career, Timlin achieved a series of firsts as a Canadian woman in her field. She remained at the University of Saskatchewan throughout her career.

Jacques Parizeau, GOQ, economist, professor, senior public servant, politician and premier of Québec (born 9 August 1930 in Montréal, QC; died 1 June 2015 in Montréal, QC).

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.

Click here for definitions of key terms used in this article.