Browse "Business & Economics"

Peter Robinson, merchant, developer, immigration superintendent (b in NB 1785; d at Toronto 8 July 1838). Until 1822 he was active in the development of Yonge St in the Newmarket and Holland Landing area.

Philemon Wright, colonizer, farmer, businessman (born 3 September 1760 in Woburn, Massachusetts; died 3 June 1839 in Hull, QC).

Philip Kives, business executive and innovative marketer (born 12 February 1929 near Oungre, SK; died 28 April 2016 in Winnipeg, MB).

Pierre Dugua de Mons (or Du Gua de Monts), colonizer, explorer, trader (born c. 1558 in Royan, France; died 22 February 1628 near Fléac-sur-Seugne, France). Pierre Dugua de Mons oversaw the founding of Port Royal, in Acadia (present-day Annapolis Royal), and Quebec City, Quebec. These two places were the first successful French settlements in North America. At a time of significant religious tension in France, there were few people involved in that kingdom’s exploration and settlement of North America that better represent the social, political and religious context of the early 17th century. Both Samuel de Champlain and Mathieu Da Costa, who are better known from this period, were de Mons’s employees and acted under his direction. De Mons’s legacy has been overshadowed by Champlain in part because Champlain wrote extensively about his work, whereas de Mons did not. In addition, in some of Champlain’s writings he replaced de Mons with himself.

After the governor of New France punished them for this expedition, the partners went to Boston to arrange a voyage to Hudson Bay. In 1665 they sailed to England, where their plan of bypassing the St Lawrence R to reach the interior fur-producing region found backers.

Pierre Gaultier de Varennes et de La Vérendrye, military officer, farmer, fur trader, explorer (born at Trois-Rivières, Quebec 17 November 1685; died at Montreal 5 December 1749). The expeditions organized by La Vérendrye and spearheaded by his sons were the first to open the country from Lake Superior to the lower Saskatchewan River and the Missouri River to the French fur trade. La Vérendrye is often portrayed as emblematic of the French-Canadianvoyageur and of French Manitoba in particular.

​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.

Pierre Péladeau, CM, OQ, businessman, publisher (born 11 April 1925 in Outremont, QC; died 24 December 1997 in Montreal, QC). Pierre Péladeau is the president and founder of Quebécor Inc., a communication company founded in 1965. He received many awards and distinctions in recognition of his career.

Pierre PÉLADEAU does a short-stepped shuffle out of his black chauffeur-driven Cadillac and into, of all places, the Cyber-Bistro in downtown Montreal.This article was originally published in Maclean's Magazine on August 5, 1996

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.

​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.

Ray Edwin Powell, "Rep," business executive (b at Table Grove, Ill 7 Dec 1887; d at Montréal 9 Nov 1973). Educated at University of Illinois, Powell served in the US army during WWI.

Brigadier-General Raymond Brutinel, CB, CMG, DSO, geologist, journalist, soldier and entrepreneur, a pioneer in the field of mechanized warfare (b at Alet, Aude, France 6 Mar 1872; d at Couloume-Mondebat, Gares, France 21 Sept 1964).

Reichmann Family, real-estate developers. The 3 brothers, Albert, Paul and Ralph were born in Austria where their parents had moved in 1928 and after further moves to France, Spain and Morocco, they arrived in Canada in 1956.

This article was originally published in Maclean’s magazine on September 22, 1997. Partner content is not updated. Far from squandering his hard-won experience, Philip Reichmann is today assembling his own real estate empire on the remnants of the old. He and his partner, Frank Hauer, Paul Reichmann's son-in-law, are inevitably driven by the family's age-old passion for business.