Browse "Businessmen"

Augustus Frederick Goodridge, businessman, politician (b at Paignton, Eng 1839; d at St John's 16 Feb 1920). First elected as a Conservative in 1880, Goodridge moved into Opposition in the mid-1880s and became leader in 1884-85.

Avie Bennett, businessman, publisher, philanthropist (born 2 Jan 1928 in Toronto, ON; died 2 June 2017 in Toronto, ON). Renowned for his interest in social and cultural issues, Avie Bennett began his business career in shopping centre development, a business that his family had pioneered.

Benjamin Dunkelman, army officer, businessman, sailor, arts patron (b at Toronto 26 June 1913; d there 11 June 1997). Benjamin Dunkelman was the son of Polish-Jewish immigrants who built Tip Top Tailors, a prominent Toronto haberdashery firm.

Benjamin Hart, businessman (b at Montréal 10 Aug 1779; d at New York, NY 27 Feb 1855). Brother of Moses Hart and son of Aaron Hart, a prominent Trois-Rivières merchant, Benjamin followed his father's occupation, first at Trois-Rivières and Montréal, then almost exclusively in Montréal.

When the larger-than-life Jack McClelland ran the venerable Canadian publishing house co-founded by his father, McClelland & Stewart was no stranger to headlines.This article was originally published in Maclean's Magazine on July 10, 2000

This article was originally published in Maclean’s magazine on October 20, 1997. Partner content is not updated. In the late 1950s, Bernard (Bernie) Ebbers liked nothing better than cruising the streets of Edmonton in his red Pontiac. On Saturday nights, he and his friends from Victoria Composite High School would gather at the Kingsway Inn to discuss their favorite topics - girls and sports - over beer.

Major General Bertram (Bert) Meryl Hoffmeister, OC, CB, CBE, DSO & Two Bars, ED, Canadian Army officer, businessman (born 15 May 1907 in Vancouver, BC; died 4 December 1999 in Vancouver, BC). During the Second World War, Hoffmeister commanded the Seaforth Highlanders in Sicily, the 2nd Infantry Brigade at Ortona (1943) and the 5th Canadian Armoured Division, which distinguished itself under his courageous leadership in Italy and later in North-West Europe. Military historian Jack Granatstein has referred to Major General Hoffmeister as one of “the best Canadian fighting generals of the [Second world] war.”When the war ended, Hoffmeister resumed his career in the BC forest industry and was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1982.

Billy Diamond, politician, businessman (born on 17 May 1949 in Rupert House [now Cree Nation of Waskaganish], QC; died on 30 September 2010 in Waskaganish, QC). A leading figure in Indigenous politics of the James Bay region of Quebec, he was a prime mover and signator of the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement. He was also a chairman of the James Bay Cree school board and president of Air Creebec.

An alcoholic, usually in debt, Edwards moved to Toronto in 1909, then to Montréal, Port Arthur, Ont, and Winnipeg, returning to Calgary in 1911. Unconventional to the end, he supported Prohibition in the referendum of 1916, then won election as an independent in the 1921 provincial elections.

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.

This article was originally published in Maclean’s magazine on March 25, 2002. Partner content is not updated. In the days before business plans and vision statements, Vancouver shopkeeper Hok Yat Louie wrote, in his native Chinese, a series of letters to his sons. It was 1934 and, in failing health, he'd returned for the first time in 38 years to his birthplace in south China's Pearl River Delta.

This article was originally published in Maclean’s magazine on June 13, 2005. Partner content is not updated. IS MICHAEL de GUZMAN DEAD OR ALIVE? Eight years after the Bre-X Minerals fraud was uncovered, the fate of its central figure still haunts us. Last month, it seemed, he briefly stepped out from the shadows. And just like that, he was gone again.

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. 

This article was originally published in Maclean’s magazine on April 17, 1995. Partner content is not updated. Former film-maker Edgar Bronfman Jr. showed last week that he still has a flair for the dramatic. Investors and analysts were kept on the edge of their seats as the 39-year-old chief executive of Seagram Co. Ltd.

This article was originally published in Maclean’s magazine on May 25, 1998. Partner content is not updated. Montreal's Bronfman family is no stranger to controversy. After arriving in Canada from Russia in the 1890s, they made a fortune outrunning federal tax collectors and selling whisky to American mobsters. The next generation made headlines tussling over control of the family firm, Seagram Co. Ltd.