Selected Biographies and Autobiographies of Canadian Business Persons

Autobiographies

Bata, Thomas J. Bata: Shoemaker to the World
[Note: The death of Thomas Bata was reported in early September, 2008 and numerous obituaries will be found around that time. Some samples are provided here for you:
- "Czech-born Shoemaker Thomas Bata Dies in Toronto at Age 93," Canadian Press, Sept. 1, 2008;
- "Bata's Shoe Empire Spans the Globe; 'One of the Greatest Personalities of our Time,' says Czech President," Chris Wattie, National Post, Sept.2, 2008;
- "Shoe Baron Was Perfect Fit: Czech-born Salesman Turned Tine Workshop into Footwear Giant With Global Influence," The Toronto Star, Sept.2, 2008;
-"He Made Bata a Worldwide Word for Shoes..." Gay Abbate, the Globe and Mail, Sept.6, 2008;
There are many additional death notices from publications around the world. It appears from them that Bata was particularly admired in India. See, for example:
-"Bata, Who Left Indelible Footprint in India, Dies," The Times of India, Sept.4, 2008;
- "Bata Shoe Mogul Dead," The Press Trust of India, Ltd., Sept.2, 2008. ]

Black, Conrad. A Life in Progress

Bronfman, Edgar. Good Spirits: The Making of a Businessman.

Byfield, Ted. The Book of Ted: Epistles from an Unrepentant Redneck.

Campbell, David. Do You Really Need an MBA? The Way of an Entrepreneur

Cohen, Reuben. A Time to Tell: The Public Life of a Private Man.
According to Peter Newman, "Reuben Cohen is a mensch - and this book portrays his life and times - a most worthy addition to the thin shelf of business autobiography". In the Financial Post ("Reflections on Fame, Fortune, Fiasco", Spt. 26/28, 1998) Sheldon Gordon wrote: "Three (restrained) cheers for Reuben Cohen. First, because unlike most Canadian business achievers, he has seen fit to write his memoirs. Second, because he is literate enough to have done so without the aid of a professional writer. Third, because he let his chips fall where they may". Cohen was one of the founders of Central Guaranty Trust which was one of the largest trust companies in Canada.

Cohen, Albert D.. The Entrepreneurs: The Story of Gendis, Inc.

Cohen, Albert. Triangle of Success: The SAAN Story.

Cohon, George. To Russia with Fries: My Adventures in Canada and Russia - Having Fun Along the Way.

Cooper, Sherry. The Cooper Files: A Practical Guide to Your Financial Future.

Covert, Frank Manning. Fifty Years in the Practice of Law.

De Santis, Solange. Life on the Line.

Drabinsky, Garth and de Villiers, Marq. Closer to the Sun: An Autobiography.

Emery, Roy. Around the Whole World Together

Gillespie, Alastair with Irene Sage. Made in Canada: A Businessman's Adventure in Politics
“Alastair Gillespie was born in Victoria, British Columbia, and served in the navy during World War II. A Rhodes scholar at Oxford after the war, he went on to become a successful businessman before entering politics. Swept into office as a Liberal MP on the wave of Trudeaumania in 1968, he served in three different cabinet positions. He was successively Minister of State for Science and Technology, Minister of Industry, Trade and Commerce, and Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources.”
For an interesting review that compares and contrasts the life of Gillespie with Lincoln Alexander see William Johnson’s “Different Means, Same Ends” in the Globe and Mail, February 26, 2010.

Goodis, Jerry. Goodis: Shaking the Canadian Advertising Tree.

Hargrove, Buzz. Labour of Love: The Fight to Create a More Humane Canada.

Haskayne, Richard F. Northern Tigers: Building Ethical Canadian Corporate Champions.
"Northern Tigers: Building Ethical Canadian Corporate Champions is both a fascinating memoir by one of the most successful executives in North American business history, and a personal manifesto from an outspoken corporate leader on the issues of business ethics and private philanthropy. In a book brimming with behind-the-scenes intrigue and insights, the man whose name now graces the Haskayne School of Business at the University of Calgary, discusses his life and careerfrom his Depression-era roots as a butchers son in whistle-stop Gleichen, Albertato his top-of-the-ladder success as head of nine major Canadian companies, including Home Oil, TransCanada Pipelines, MacMillan Bloedel, and Fording Inc. As he chronicles his long career with revealing, richly anecdotal detail, Haskayne addresses a vital and timely theme: the need to create companies that are true domestic Tigersenterprises firmly based in Canada and strong and quick-witted enough to withstand predatory takeovers by foreign corporations. Haskayne has written first-hand the fortitude and the foibles of many of the most sensational and colourful characters in Canadian corporate circles, entrepreneurs and businessmen such as the Reichmann brothers (international developers, Hiram Walker, Gulf Canada), Smilin Jack Gallagher (the lord of Dome Petroleum), Harley Hotchkiss (oilman, Calgary Flames co-owner, NHL chairman), and Gwyn Morgan (EnCana founder). Among many successes, he helped guide some of Canadas largest-ever mergers, including Fording Coal/Sherritt International, NOVA/TransCanada, and PanCanadian Energy/Alberta Energy, which gave birth to EnCana. But there were many obstacles along the way, too. Haskayne is bluntly forthcoming and regretful about the ones that got awaylike the American takeover of the venerable lumber giant MacMillan Bloedel Ltd. and the painful death of the legendary Hudsons Bay Oil and Gas Company. In Northern Tigersco-written with veteran business author Paul Grescoe .Dick Haskayne filters all of his hard-earned wisdom through the lens of his impressive lifes work for an unforgettable portrait of an extraordinary era in Canadian corporate history."

Hotchkiss, Harley
Hotchkiss, Harley. Hat Trick: A Life in the Hockey Rink, Oil Patch and Community
“In 2005 during the National Hockey League's year-long lockout of North American teams, Calgary Flames' co-founder Harley Hotchkiss - chair of the league - met alone with Trevor Linden, president of the NHL Players' Association. The wisdom and honesty of the team owner, many decades older, helped influence the popular young centre to convince fellow players to settle the dispute. Harley has had that remarkable effect on people throughout his astonishing career in sports, business, and the community - a hat trick fulfilling his three goals in life. His absorbing memoir is an insider's guide to the development of North American hockey; the growth of the Canadian oil and gas industry witnessed by one of its most influential and individualistic entrepreneurs; and the behind-the-scenes story of enlightened philanthropy. Along the way, the Ontario tobacco-farmer's son tells of doing deals with the legendary Boone Pickens, going on safari with Swedish royalty, and becoming a partner with the mysterious Baron Carlo von Maffei.”

Jarislowsky, Stephen. The Investment Zoo: Taming the Bulls and the Bears.

Kolber, Leo. Leo: A Life.

Martin, Paul
Hell or High Water: My Life in and Out of Politics

Mirvish, Ed. How to Build an Empire on an Orange Crate or 121 Lessons Never Learned in School.

Pincer, Gerry. The Ride of My Life.

Rogers, Ted. Relentless: The True Story of the Man Behind Rogers Communications.
This information is provided by the publisher:
Book Description:
As president and CEO of Rogers Communications Inc., Ted Rogers is at the head of a communications and media company that operates Canada's largest wireless carrier, its largest cable provider, 53 radio stations, 70 consumer and trade magazines, the OMNI and CityTV networks, and other properties as diverse as The Shopping Channel and the Toronto Blue Jays. Outspoken, sometimes controversial and always forward-thinking, Rogers is a legendary innovator whose brand stands among the top in Canadian business.
Now, for the first time, Ted Rogers tells the story of how he built Rogers Communications into one of the largest companies in Canadian history--and in only one generation. The tragic, premature death of his father, radio pioneer Ted Rogers Sr., left his family with little except the burning desire to reclaim what they had lost. From an early age, Ted was fascinated with radio and television; he once strung wires out of his dorm room to a roof-top antenna to bring in U.S. programming to Toronto before the city had any stations. As a law student, he invested everything he had in an FM station, buying CHFI when only five percent of the market actually owned an FM radio.
Rogers is characteristically frank about his successes and his failures. Over the years, he has faced challenges to his domain, sometimes risking so much that it nearly cost him everything. Each time, however, he has returned stronger than ever. Written in a highly accessible style, Relentless will appeal as much to Main Street as to Bay Street. Filled with backroom deals, on-air battles and the often outrageous exploits of this communications visionary, Relentless will ring true as the most fascinating business memoir of the year.

It was pointed out in one article that all 29,000 employees of Rogers Communications received a copy. See:
"Sure Beats Reading Corporate Manuals," by Patricia Best, The Globe & Mail, Oct.15, 2008, p.B2.

Sarlos, Andrew. Fireworks: The Investment of a Lifetime.

Schmeelk, Richard J. Mr. Canada: Adventures of an Investment Banker Inside and Outside Business HG2463.S36M73 2007
"As a general partner of Salomon Brothers Inc., a member of the firm's executive committee, and head of its worldwide corporate finance activities from 1980 to 1987, Richard Schmeelk witnessed many of the most dramatic episodes in business history--and played a role in shaping more than a few of them. He helped Salomon Brothers become the leading U.S. investment banking firm in raising capital for corporations, governments, and financial institutions worldwide, and earned the affectionate moniker "Mr. Canada" as the leading American banker north of the border. In this memoir, Dick Schmeelk offers a lifetime of stories and insights about the amazing world of corporate finance--its struggles, pitfalls, challenges, and sometimes heady rewards. You'll learn about the human side of high finance: the red-eye flights, the friendships forged (and sometimes broken) under pressure, and the high-stakes games of bluff and counter-bluff that determine cash flows in the billions of dollars. You'll meet some of the most remarkable business and political leaders of the past quarter-century, from Walter Wriston, David Rockefeller, and Pierre Trudeau to John Gutfreund, Paul Volcker, and Michael Bloomberg. Most of all, you'll get to know Dick Schmeelk--outspoken, funny, colorful, a canny financier who takes business seriously--but never himself."

Sigfusson, Svein. Sigfusson's Roads.

Smith, Llewellyn. The House that Jam Built.

Ward, Max. The Max Ward Story: A Bush Pilot in the Bureaucratic Jungle.

Zimmerman, Adam. Who's in Charge Here, Anyway?

Biographies

Asper, Izzy.
Newman, Peter Charles
Izzy The Passionate Life and Turbulent Times of Izzy Asper, Canada' s Media Mogul
( P92.5.A86N49 2008)

“Canada's blockbuster political commentator, author of Here Be Dragons and The Secret Mulroney Tapes, tells the epic, unauthorized life story of a Canadian media giant Izzy Asper was a true visionary and a self-made billionaire. In the kind of intimate detail that made his other books mega bestsellers, Peter C. Newman profiles one of the most charismatic and powerful Canadian tycoons of the past quarter century. A serial risk-taker with a fever in his blood, the always controversial Asper grew a tiny television station, operated out of a converted supermarket, into the CanWest empire. Under Asper's guidance, CanWest became Canada's most profitable television network, one that comprised Global Television, and more than 60 newspapers--including the National Post--and was run mainly out of Izzy's briefcase from his beloved hometown of Winnipeg. Izzy was the quintessential entrepreneur, constantly in flight and flux, each of his improbable ventures feeding on the next. Only his family occupied higher ground than his business interests, yet he combined the joys of home life with his killer instincts at work. Both were essential to his character. In the end, Izzy Asper was addicted as much to the game as to its rewards. What made him so special was his ability to create warm, electric moments among his friends and loyalists, yet inspire fear in his critics and enemies. Izzy is Canadian business history at its best, a masterful portrait of the man who was, for decades, the country's leading media mogul”.

Ballard, Harold.
Beddoes, Dick. Pal Hal: An Uninhibited, No-Holds-Barred Account of the Life and Times of Harold Ballard.
Safiarik, Allan (ed.). Quotations From Chairman Ballard.

Beaverbrook
Chisholm, Anne and Michael Davie. BeaverBrook: A Life.
Marchildon, Gregory. Profits and Politics: Beaverbrook and the Gilded Age of Canadian Finance.
Richards, David Adams. Lord Beaverbrook

Black, Conrad
McNish, Jacquie. Wrong Way: The Fall of Conrad Black.
Newman, Peter C. The Establishment Man: A Portrait of Power
Siklos, Richard. Shades of Black: Conrad Black and the World's Fastest Growing Press Empire.
Tombs, George. Lord Black: The Biography
Bower, Tom.    Conrad and Lady Black: Dancing on the Edge.
English, Kathy Lynn,   Family Ties and Chains of Ownership...
Paris, Gordon A Report of investigation by the Special Committee of the Board of Directors of Hollinger International Inc.

Blackburn, Walter
Nolan, Michael. Walter J. Blackburn: A Man For All Media.

Borowski, Joe
Laurence, Lianne. Borowski: A Canadian Paradox.

Bragg, John
Pitts, Gordon. The Codfathers: Lessons from the Atlantic Business Elite

Bronfman, Edgar.
McDowall, Duncan. The Light: Brazilian Traction, Light and Power Company Limited, 1899-1945.
McQueen, Rod. The Icarus Factor: The Rise and Fall of Edgar Bronfman Jr.

Bronfman, Samuel
Marrus, Michael. Mr. Sam: The Life and Times of Samuel Bronfman.
Newman, Peter C. The Bronfman Dynasty.
Newman, Peter C. King of the Castle: The Making of a Dynasty ? Seagrams and the Bronfman Empire.

Campeau, Robert
Babad, Michael and Catherine Mulroney. Campeau: The Building of an Empire.
Rothchild, John. Going For Broke: How Robert Campeau Bankrupted the Retail Industry, Jolted the Junk Bond Market and Brought the Booming Eighties to a Crashing Halt.

Covert, Frank
Bruce, Harry. Corporate Navigator: The Life of Frank Alarming Covert.

Cowpland, Michael
Laver, Ross. Random Excess: The Wild Ride of Michael Cowpland and Corel.

Currie, Richard
Pitts, Gordon. The Codfathers: Lessons from the Atlantic Business Elite

de Grandpre, Jean
Surtees, Lawrence. Pa Bell: A. Jean de Grandpre and the Meteoric Rise of Bell Canada Enterprises.

D'Alessandro, Domenic
Manulife: How Dominic D'Alessandro Built a Global Giant and Fought to Save It.
McQueen, Rod. HG8764.D35M37 2009
“In this engaging book, award-winning business writer Rod McQueen examines how the pugnacious personality and hard-driving leadership style of Dominic D'Alessandro led Manulife Financial to its position as one of the largest and most profitable life insurance companies in North America, and the fourth largest in the world. From D'Alessandro's role in the successful demutualization and conversion of the company to public company status in 1999, which set the stage for Manulife to become a world leader, to D'Alessandro's successful completion of Canada's largest cross-border merger, Manulife captures the story of 15 years of outstanding business leadership.”

Desmarais, Paul
Greber, Dave. Rising to Power: Paul Desmarais and Power Corporation.

Dobbin, Craig.
Reynolds, John, One Hell of a Ride: How Craig Dobbin Built the World’s Largest Helicopter Company HC112.5.D62R49 2008
“One Hell of a Ride traces the life, triumphs and tragedy of Craig Laurence Dobbin, weaving a tale that is inspiring, amusing, tragic and, like its subject, never less than gripping. Dobbin was an irrepressible Newfoundlander who counted prime ministers and U.S. presidents among his friends, teetered on the edge of bankruptcy for much of his life, and remains a legend among all who knew him. Born during the Great Depression, Dobbin built a small empire in real estate and discovered the joy of fishing in remote salmon pools. To reach these he bought a helicopter. Ten years later, he was running CHC Helicopters, a public corporation earning hundreds of millions of dollars annually, most from ferrying men and equipment to offshore oil platforms. He soon grew the company into the largest operation of its kind in the world. When he died in October 2006, Dobbin left behind a legacy of business and personal achievements unmatched by any Canadian of his time. Everyone who dealt with him agrees: they will never see his like again.
For further information about CHC Helicopters see our Company History site.

Dunsmuir, Robert
Bowen, Lynne. Robert Dunsmuir: Laird of the Mines

Eaton, Timothy
Santink, Joy L. Timothy Eaton and the Rise of His Department Store.
McQueen, Rod. The Eatons: The Rise and Fall of Canada's Royal Family.

Fipke, Charles
Frolick, Vernon. Fire Into Ice: Charles Fipke & the Great Diamond Hunt.

Flavelle, Joseph
Bliss, Michael. Canadian Millionaire: The Life and Business Times of Sir Joseph Flavelle, 1858-1939.

Galt, Alexander Tilloch
Magrath, C.A. The Galts, Father and Son, Pioneers in the Development of Southern Alberta and How Alberta Grew Up.

Otter, A.A. den. Civilizing the West: The Galts and the Development of Western Canada
Skelton, Oscar Douglas. The Life and Times of Sir Alexander Tilloch Galt.
Timothy, Hamilton Baird. The Galts: A Canadian Odyssey

Ganong, David
Pitts, Gordon. The Codfathers: Lessons from the Atlantic Business Elite

Ginter, Ben.
Wenzel, Jan-Udo. Ginter!

Gordon, Crawford
Stewart, Greig. An Arrow Through the Heart: the Life and Times of Crawford Gordon and the Avro Arrow.

Gordon, Donald
Schull, Joseph. The Great Scot: A Biography of Donald Gordon.

Hargrove, Buzz
Hargrove, Buzz. Laying It On the Line: Driving a Hard Bargain In Challenging Times. HD6528.A8H38 2009

Hartog, Robbert
Robbert Hartog: A Lifetime of Changing Lives
Teahen, Shannon HV28.H37T43 2009

Heinz, H.J.
Skrabec, Quentin R. H.J. Heinz : a Biography.

Holton, Luther H.
Klassen, Henry. Luther H. Holton: A Founding Canadian Entrepreneur.

Horton, Tim
Hunter, Douglas. Open Ice: The Tim Horton Story.

Howe, C.D.
Bothwell, Robert and William Kilbourn. C.D. Howe: A Biography.

Imbeault, Bernard
Pitts, Gordon. The Codfathers: Lessons from the Atlantic Business Elite

Irving, K.C.
DeMont, John. Citizens Irving: K C. Irving and His Legacy.
How, Douglas and Ralph Costello. K C.: The Biography of K C. Irving.
Hunt, Russell and Robert Campbell. K C. Irving: The Art of the Industrialist.
Sawker, Harvey. Twenty-First Century Irvings 2007
From the publisher's site:
"Famed Canadian industrialist K. C. Irving has always been considered the most important figure of the Irving family business empire—an empire of such dominance in its region that only America’s Morgans or Rockefellers merit a valid comparison. K. C. was indeed the pivot man in a relentless relay of work now spanning more than fourteen decades.
Twenty-first Century Irvings leads us through the three generations left in K. C.’s wake, a dozen or more individuals following the Irving tradition—hard work, family loyalty, and an awe-inspiring attention to detail. These contemporary Irvings are trying to do all this while attempting to cast a kinder, gentler Irving image, which those close to the family claim has always been a part of the Irving’s rural New Brunswick makeup.
Twenty-first Century Irvings explores the modern family business, the powerful players behind its continuing success, and the myths that are spread about the wealthy empire. Author Harvey Sawler exposes the truths behind those myths, and predicts the transformation of the family, like the Rockefellers and the Morgans, from industrialists to philanthropists. A business story, a family story, and a Maritime story, this is a book for anyone interested in or affected by the Irving empire."

Ivey, Richard
Armstrong, Frederick Henry. The Iveys of London: An Entrepreneurial and Philanthropic Family

Jodrey, R.A.
Bruce, Harry. The Story of R.A. Jodrey: Entrepreneur.

Johnstone, Lucille
Levy, E. Paul River Queen: The Amazing Story of Tugboat Titan Lucille Johnstone (HE 945.R55L48 2006)
"Rivtow was just a three-boat log-towing operation when Lucille Johnstone came aboard as an unskilled girl Friday in the late 1940s. By the 1980s, Rivtow had taken over its biggest rival to become one of the giants of the marine transportation industry with connections worldwide, and Lucille was the driving force behind its success. As the company grew she worked her way from receptionist to secretary to dispatcher to administrator to CEO and finally, to president. A remarkable feat for a woman in those times, and made even more remarkable in that her unlikely success took place in the male-dominated world of towboating. Lucille Johnstone was as legendary for her kindness and social conscience as she was for her clever negotiating and creative deal making. Because of her selflessness, she unfortunately did not think it necessary to secure her position in the corporation she helped to build, ending up on the outside looking in after a generational shift of ownership. Putting that behind her, Lucille went on with life, this time as a driving force behind Expo 86, the new Vancouver International Airport and St. John Ambulance, among a number of other businesses and charities. Lucille’s many recognitions include an honorary doctorate from UBC as a Woman of Distinction, and being named to both the Order of British Columbia and the Order of Canada.”

Koffler, Murray
Rasky, Frank. Just a Simple Pharmacist: The Story of Murray Koffler, Builder of the Shoppers Drug Mart Empire.

Lundrigan, William
Pitcher, Arthur R. The Set of the Sails: A Tribute to the Life of William J Lundrigan.

Macdonald, William C.
Fong, William Jesse. Sir William C. Macdonald: a Biography.

MacMillan, H.R.
Drushka, Ken. H.R.: A Biography of H.R. MacMillan.

Magna, Frank
Lilley, Wayne. Magna Cum Laude: How Frank Stronach Became Canada's Best Paid Man
HC 112.5.S76L54 2006
[from the publisher's site]:
"The first biography of one of Canada’s most elusive and controversial billionaires.
This is a solid, thorough business book about Frank Stronach, Canada’s most famous rags-to-riches story. The outline is well known: a young Austrian immigrant arrives in Canada in 1955 with fifty dollars in his pocket. He takes menial jobs like washing dishes until he can start a tiny machine shop in Toronto in 1957. The Auto Pact opens up the car-parts business. The company grows and grows, spawning many small union-free factories, until from its Aurora base it employs more than seventy thousand people, and Frank as chairman and owner can pay himself over $54 million in salary.
Yet Wayne Lilley’s book will be the very first about this eccentric, larger than life figure. As a result of dogged research, he has built up a detailed, step-by-step picture of how Magna grew — and recovered from the brink of disaster in 1990, to its present gigantic size.
It’s an amazing story of business success, stranger than fiction, that along the way takes us into the world of car-making, of horse racing (Stronach owns more than 1,000 thoroughbreds and 11 tracks in North America), and of politics (where Frank and his daughter Belinda have both played a role). Yet all the while a shareholders’ 2006 lawsuit against Stronach’s control of the company is ticking like a time bomb . . ."
[http://www.mcclelland.com]

Martin, Paul
Gray, John. Paul Martin: In The Balance.
Gray, John. Paul Martin: The Power of Ambition

McClelland, Jack
King, James. Jack: A Life with Writers. The Story of Jack McClelland.

McConnell, J.W.
Fong, William. J.W. McConnell: Financier, Philanthropist, Patriot.

“J.W. McConnell (1877-1963), born to a poor farming family in Ontario, became one of the wealthiest and most powerful businessmen of his generation - in Canada and internationally.

Early in his career McConnell established the Montreal office of the Standard Chemical Company and began selling bonds and shares in both North America and Europe, establishing relationships that would lead to his enormous financial success. He was involved in numerous businesses, from tramways to ladies' fashion to mining, and served on the boards of several corporations. For nearly fifty years he was president of St Laurence Sugar and late in life he became the owner and publisher of the Montreal Star.

McIvor, George Harold.

Morriss, William E. Chosen Instrument: A History of the Canadian Wheat Board/The McIvor Years.

McLaughlin, Robert Samuel
Robertson, Heather. Driving Force: The McLaughlin Family and the Age of the Car.

McRae, Alexander Duncan

O’Keefe,  Betty. Merchant Prince: The Story of Alexander Duncan McRae
From the publisher:
“Alexander Duncan McRae, a Canadian who made good, is largely forgotten even though his enterprise and colourful life helped define the growth of western Canada. McRae played a leading role in the birth of many prairie communities before becoming a West Coast industrialist in lumber, mining and fisheries. He was a key figure in BC''s "golden years," an opulent era in the early 20th century. McRae also served Canada as a First World War general and returned from overseas to become an …+ read moreAlexander Duncan McRae, a Canadian who made good, is largely forgotten even though his enterprise and colourful life helped define the growth of western Canada. McRae played a leading role in the birth of many prairie communities before becoming a West Coast industrialist in lumber, mining and fisheries. He was a key figure in BC''s "golden years," an opulent era in the early 20th century. McRae also served Canada as a First World War general and returned from overseas to become an outspoken BC politician, federal member of Parliament and senator. After donating Hycroft to the government for use as a veterans'' hospital, McRae devoted his later years to Eaglecrest, a Qualicum Beach country estate and a 4,000-acre experimental farm. Alexander Duncan McRae was a blend of social conscience, political savvy and entrepreneurial skill, a true "merchant prince."Hycroft, Alexander and Blaunche McRae''s elegant 30-room mansion, became the centre of Vancouver''s social life in Shaughnessy and a lasting symbol of the age. Today, Hycroft and half of the original McRae estate are owned, cherished and enjoyed by the members of the University Women''s Club of Vancouver.”

Mirvish, "Honest Ed", Edwin.
Batten, Jack. Honest Ed's Story.
Mirvish, Robert Business is People: Viewpoints from Honest Ed's (HF 5465.C34H666 1963)

Molson, John
Hunter, Doug. Molson: The Birth of a Business Empire.
Molson, Karen. The Molsons: Their Lives & Times, 1780-2000.

Munk, Peter
Rohmer, Richard. Golden Phoenix: The Biography of Peter Munk.
Rumball, Donald. Peter Munk: The Making of a Modern Tycoon.

Nichol, Dave
Kirston, Anne. The Edible Man: Dave Nichol, President's Choice, & the Making of Popular Taste.

Oland, Derek
Pitts, Gordon. The Codfathers: Lessons from the Atlantic Business Elite

Pattison , James.
Kelly, Russell. Pattison: Portrait of a Capitalist Superstar.

Pellatt, Henry Mill
Denison, John. Casa Loma and the Man Who Built It.
Oreskovich, Carlie. Sir Henry Pellatt: The King of Casa Loma.

Penna, Paul. (created & ran the Agnico-Eagle Ltd, Gold & Silver Mining Co.)
Macbeth, Mike. Silver Threads Among the Gold: The Rags to Riches Saga of a Man and His Mines.

Pezim, Murray.
Wells, Jennifer. The Pez: The Manic Life of the Ultimate Promoter.

Redpath, John
Feltoe, Richard. A Gentleman of Substance: The Life and Legacy of John Redpath, 1796-1869.

Reichmanns
Bianco, Anthony. The Reichmanns: Family, Faith, Fortune, and the Empire of Olympia & Work.
Foster, Peter. Towers of Debt: The Rise and Fall of the Reichmans.

Risley, John
Pitts, Gordon. The Codfathers: Lessons from the Atlantic Business Elite

Rogers, Samuel Edward.
Anthony, Ian. Radio Wizard: Edward Samuel Rogers and the Revolution of Communications
Rogers was a Canadian inventor and this book was nominated for the National Business Book Award. Anthony is a Western graduate.

Rogers, Ted
Hasselt, Caroline van. High Wire Act: Ted Rogers and the Empire that Debt Built.
McDougall, Bruce. Ted Rogers: A Biography.

Roman, Stephen
McKay, Paul. The Roman Empire: The Unauthorized Life and Times of Stephen Roman.

Seaman, Daryl K. "Doc"
Sharpe, Sydney. Staying in the Game: The Remarkable Story of Doc Seaman.
HC112.5.S38S46 2008 Here is some information from the publisher:
"Peter C. Newman called him "the Totem of the Titans." From a small Prairie town, Daryl K. "Doc" Seaman became an icon of Canadian business and hockey. He is one of the last of a breed of postwar entrepreneurs and sportsmen who forged modern Canada, striking deals on a handshake and always keeping their word.
After flying 82 combat missions during the Second World War, Doc Seaman worked in the oil industry with his brothers, turning a small Alberta drilling business into a global giant, Bow Valley Industries. Later, he led a group that brought the Atlanta Flames to Calgary. Still a Flames co-owner, he helped reshape Hockey Canada and restore Canada’s glory in international hockey. Doc Seaman’s life is a remarkable saga of courage, resolve, generosity, and success. It ultimately leaves us not only with a deep appreciation of one iconic Canadian but also with a wider understanding of our country."

Short, Harvey James.
Short, Harvey. Looking Through My Father’s Eyes
From the publisher:

“Harvey Short: visionary, entrepreneur, family man. His story begins in Hant’s Harbour, Trinity Bay during the Great Depression. Many families experienced trial, hardship, and poverty in the dirty thirties. But the people of outport Newfoundland persevered, through love of family and friends, and strength of will.
Moderate financial success was the fruit of Harvey Short’s labour in mainland Canada. He travelled the world over in his youth, but Newfoundland is where he found the answer to his prayers. Upon returning to Newfoundland, he gave life to Nu-Way Kitchens, a dream inspired by his outport childhood that travelled with him over the years.”

Shulman, Morton
Kaster, Susan. Can't Somebody Shut Him Up? The Life and Times of Dr. Morton Shulman.

Simpson, S.M.
Simpson, Sharron. Boards, Boxes, and Bins: S.M. Simpson and the Okanagan Lumber Industry

Smith, Donald
McDonald, Donna. Lord Strathcona: a Biography of Donald Alexander Smith.
Wilson, Keith. Donald Smith and the Canadian Pacific Railway.

Sobey, Frank.
Bruce, Harry. Frank Sobey: The Man and the Empire.

Stonach, Frank .
Lilley, Wayne. Magna Cum Laude: How Frank Stonach Became Canada's Best-Paid Man.
Magna Cum Laude: How Frank Stronach Became Canada's Best-Paid Man (HC 112.5.S76L54 2006)
" The first biography of one of Canada's most elusive and controversial billionaires.
This is a solid, thorough business book about Frank Stronach, Canada's most famous rags-to-riches story. The outline is well known: a young Austrian immigrant arrives in Canada in 1955 with fifty dollars in his pocket. He takes menial jobs like washing dishes until he can start a tiny machine shop in Toronto in 1957. The Auto Pact opens up the car-parts business. The company grows and grows, spawning many small union-free factories, until from its Aurora base it employs more than seventy thousand people, and Frank as chairman and owner can pay himself over $54 million in salary.
Yet Wayne Lilley's book will be the very first about this eccentric, larger than life figure. As a result of dogged research, he has built up a detailed, step-by-step picture of how Magna grew — and recovered from the brink of disaster in 1990, to its present gigantic size.
It's an amazing story of business success, stranger than fiction, that along the way takes us into the world of car-making, of horse racing (Stronach owns more than 1,000 thoroughbreds and 11 tracks in North America), and of politics (where Frank and his daughter Belinda have both played a role). Yet all the while a shareholders' 2006 lawsuit against Stronach's control of the company is ticking like a time bomb . . . "

Taylor, E.P.
Rohmer, Mchard. E. P. Taylor: The Biography of Edward Plunkett Taylor.

Thomson, Ken
Parsons, Vic. Ken Thomson: Canada's Enigmatic Billionaire.

van Horn, William C.
Knowles, Valerie. From Telegrapher To Titan: The Life of William C. van Horn.

Wood, Geoffrey
Tughan, Samuel. Mr. Sanitation: The Authorized Illustrated Biography of Geoffrey H. Wood.

COLLECTIVE WORKS

Often biographical profiles come in the form of essays buried in collective works. Below we provide a list of such books. In some cases we have indicated who is profiled in the work and in others you may be able to see which biographical profiles are provided by clicking on the link.

The Money Rustlers: Self-Made Millionaries of the New West
Paul Grescoe and David Cruise (HC 112.5.A2G74 1985)
"Let us therefore welcome The Money Rustlers, a book about Western millionaires by Westerners. And about time, too: national media attention, as authors [Paul Grescoe] and [David Cruise] put it, has consisted of "comic-relief profiles." (They name no names, but Peter C. Newman's 1981 trivia pursuit, The Acquisitors, does spring to mind.) Carma Ltd. paid him $130 million for his half of Allarco (his partnership with Zane Feldman ended in acrimony). The complex deal gave Carma a wildly mixed bag of assets that took five years to untangle; it enabled [Charles Allard] to face the 1980s with the assets he judged appropriate to hard times - notably land (his Leduc ranch plus 19,000 acres near Palm Springs) and an entertainment medium (Edmonton's ITV, where the cult comedy program SCTV was born). Even though Grescoe and Cruise avoid "comic-relief profiles," they cannot avoid reality, and so a certain amount of gonzo capitalism sneaks in. In learning about Winnipegger [Peter Nygard], founder of Tan Jay women's wear, we learn about his incessant womanizing because, well, there it is. (He's honest, though: nobody is ever promised exclusive rights. Even his very temporary wife was told she would have only 6 per cent of his time.)" -- Penny Williams The Gazette Nov 16, 1985.

Includes profiles of Brian Heidecker, Nick Taylor, John Doole, Dr. Charles Allard, John Buhler, Joe Houssian, Jack Singer, the Ghermezians, Peter Nygard, Ed Alfke, Brenda Humber, Gary Hooge, Umberto Menghi, Bruce Allen, Dr. John S. MacDonald, Donald Cormie.

Risk Takers
Alexander Ross (HF5386.R66)
Includes profiles of Dave Hazlewood (Trident Aircraft Ltd.), Phil Japp (Porta-Flex Products Ltd.), Wilson Southam (Cox Systems Ltd.), Don Southern (ATCO), Ian Bruce (Performance Sailcraft Inc.), Russ Benson (Benson Industries Ltd.), Joseph-Armand Bombardier (Bombardier).

Who Owns Canada Now
Diane Francis (HD2809.F813 2008)
Includes profiles of important business people in these industries, among others: Real Estate, Agribusiness, Retail, Forestry, Energy, Mining, Pharmaceuticals, Technology, Entertainment, Cable, Finance, and also Industrialists, Investors and Moguls. Examples of the individuals profiled include: Marcel Adams, Jack Daniels, The Greenbergs, The Reichmanns, Ron Joyce, The Sobeys, The Westons, Wallace McCain, The Richardsons, J.C. Anderson, The Southerns, Rob McEwen, Peter Munk, Seymour Schulich, Leslie Dan, Sir Terence Matthews, Robert Miller, John MacBain, Allan Slaight, The Thomsons, Ted Rogers, J.R. Shaw, Hal Jackman, Stephen Jarislowsky, The Batas, The Bombardiers, The Samuels, Frank Stronach, Michael DeGroote, Paul Hill, The Irvings, The Jodreys, Jimmy Pattison, Gerry Schwartz and Heather Reisman.

Hargrove, Buzz. Labour of Love: The Fight to Create a More Humane Canada.

Haskayne, Richard F. Northern Tigers: Building Ethical Canadian Corporate Champions.
"Northern Tigers: Building Ethical Canadian Corporate Champions is both a fascinating memoir by one of the most successful executives in North American business history, and a personal manifesto from an outspoken corporate leader on the issues of business ethics and private philanthropy. In a book brimming with behind-the-scenes intrigue and insights, the man whose name now graces the Haskayne School of Business at the University of Calgary, discusses his life and careerfrom his Depression-era roots as a butchers son in whistle-stop Gleichen, Albertato his top-of-the-ladder success as head of nine major Canadian companies, including Home Oil, TransCanada Pipelines, MacMillan Bloedel, and Fording Inc. As he chronicles his long career with revealing, richly anecdotal detail, Haskayne addresses a vital and timely theme: the need to create companies that are true domestic Tigersenterprises firmly based in Canada and strong and quick-witted enough to withstand predatory takeovers by foreign corporations. Haskayne has written first-hand the fortitude and the foibles of many of the most sensational and colourful characters in Canadian corporate circles, entrepreneurs and businessmen such as the Reichmann brothers (international developers, Hiram Walker, Gulf Canada), Smilin Jack Gallagher (the lord of Dome Petroleum), Harley Hotchkiss (oilman, Calgary Flames co-owner, NHL chairman), and Gwyn Morgan (EnCana founder). Among many successes, he helped guide some of Canadas largest-ever mergers, including Fording Coal/Sherritt International, NOVA/TransCanada, and PanCanadian Energy/Alberta Energy, which gave birth to EnCana. But there were many obstacles along the way, too. Haskayne is bluntly forthcoming and regretful about the ones that got awaylike the American takeover of the venerable lumber giant MacMillan Bloedel Ltd. and the painful death of the legendary Hudsons Bay Oil and Gas Company. In Northern Tigersco-written with veteran business author Paul Grescoe .Dick Haskayne filters all of his hard-earned wisdom through the lens of his impressive lifes work for an unforgettable portrait of an extraordinary era in Canadian corporate history."

Hotchkiss, Harley
Hotchkiss, Harley. Hat Trick: A Life in the Hockey Rink, Oil Patch and Community
“In 2005 during the National Hockey League's year-long lockout of North American teams, Calgary Flames' co-founder Harley Hotchkiss - chair of the league - met alone with Trevor Linden, president of the NHL Players' Association. The wisdom and honesty of the team owner, many decades older, helped influence the popular young centre to convince fellow players to settle the dispute. Harley has had that remarkable effect on people throughout his astonishing career in sports, business, and the community - a hat trick fulfilling his three goals in life. His absorbing memoir is an insider's guide to the development of North American hockey; the growth of the Canadian oil and gas industry witnessed by one of its most influential and individualistic entrepreneurs; and the behind-the-scenes story of enlightened philanthropy. Along the way, the Ontario tobacco-farmer's son tells of doing deals with the legendary Boone Pickens, going on safari with Swedish royalty, and becoming a partner with the mysterious Baron Carlo von Maffei.”

Jarislowsky, Stephen. The Investment Zoo: Taming the Bulls and the Bears.

Kolber, Leo. Leo: A Life.

Martin, Paul
Hell or High Water: My Life in and Out of Politics

Mirvish, Ed. How to Build an Empire on an Orange Crate or 121 Lessons Never Learned in School.

Pincer, Gerry. The Ride of My Life.

Rogers, Ted. Relentless: The True Story of the Man Behind Rogers Communications.
This information is provided by the publisher:
Book Description:
As president and CEO of Rogers Communications Inc., Ted Rogers is at the head of a communications and media company that operates Canada's largest wireless carrier, its largest cable provider, 53 radio stations, 70 consumer and trade magazines, the OMNI and CityTV networks, and other properties as diverse as The Shopping Channel and the Toronto Blue Jays. Outspoken, sometimes controversial and always forward-thinking, Rogers is a legendary innovator whose brand stands among the top in Canadian business.
Now, for the first time, Ted Rogers tells the story of how he built Rogers Communications into one of the largest companies in Canadian history--and in only one generation. The tragic, premature death of his father, radio pioneer Ted Rogers Sr., left his family with little except the burning desire to reclaim what they had lost. From an early age, Ted was fascinated with radio and television; he once strung wires out of his dorm room to a roof-top antenna to bring in U.S. programming to Toronto before the city had any stations. As a law student, he invested everything he had in an FM station, buying CHFI when only five percent of the market actually owned an FM radio.
Rogers is characteristically frank about his successes and his failures. Over the years, he has faced challenges to his domain, sometimes risking so much that it nearly cost him everything. Each time, however, he has returned stronger than ever. Written in a highly accessible style, Relentless will appeal as much to Main Street as to Bay Street. Filled with backroom deals, on-air battles and the often outrageous exploits of this communications visionary, Relentless will ring true as the most fascinating business memoir of the year.

It was pointed out in one article that all 29,000 employees of Rogers Communications received a copy. See:
"Sure Beats Reading Corporate Manuals," by Patricia Best, The Globe & Mail, Oct.15, 2008, p.B2.

Sarlos, Andrew. Fireworks: The Investment of a Lifetime.

Schmeelk, Richard J. Mr. Canada: Adventures of an Investment Banker Inside and Outside Business BUSSTK HG2463.S36M73 2007
"As a general partner of Salomon Brothers Inc., a member of the firm's executive committee, and head of its worldwide corporate finance activities from 1980 to 1987, Richard Schmeelk witnessed many of the most dramatic episodes in business history--and played a role in shaping more than a few of them. He helped Salomon Brothers become the leading U.S. investment banking firm in raising capital for corporations, governments, and financial institutions worldwide, and earned the affectionate moniker "Mr. Canada" as the leading American banker north of the border. In this memoir, Dick Schmeelk offers a lifetime of stories and insights about the amazing world of corporate finance--its struggles, pitfalls, challenges, and sometimes heady rewards. You'll learn about the human side of high finance: the red-eye flights, the friendships forged (and sometimes broken) under pressure, and the high-stakes games of bluff and counter-bluff that determine cash flows in the billions of dollars. You'll meet some of the most remarkable business and political leaders of the past quarter-century, from Walter Wriston, David Rockefeller, and Pierre Trudeau to John Gutfreund, Paul Volcker, and Michael Bloomberg. Most of all, you'll get to know Dick Schmeelk--outspoken, funny, colorful, a canny financier who takes business seriously--but never himself."

Sigfusson, Svein. Sigfusson's Roads.

Smith, Llewellyn. The House that Jam Built.

Ward, Max. The Max Ward Story: A Bush Pilot in the Bureaucratic Jungle.

Zimmerman, Adam. Who's in Charge Here, Anyway?

Biographies

Asper, Izzy.
Newman, Peter Charles
Izzy The Passionate Life and Turbulent Times of Izzy Asper, Canada' s Media Mogul
(P92.5.A86N49 2008)

“Canada's blockbuster political commentator, author of Here Be Dragons and The Secret Mulroney Tapes, tells the epic, unauthorized life story of a Canadian media giant Izzy Asper was a true visionary and a self-made billionaire. In the kind of intimate detail that made his other books mega bestsellers, Peter C. Newman profiles one of the most charismatic and powerful Canadian tycoons of the past quarter century. A serial risk-taker with a fever in his blood, the always controversial Asper grew a tiny television station, operated out of a converted supermarket, into the CanWest empire. Under Asper's guidance, CanWest became Canada's most profitable television network, one that comprised Global Television, and more than 60 newspapers--including the National Post--and was run mainly out of Izzy's briefcase from his beloved hometown of Winnipeg. Izzy was the quintessential entrepreneur, constantly in flight and flux, each of his improbable ventures feeding on the next. Only his family occupied higher ground than his business interests, yet he combined the joys of home life with his killer instincts at work. Both were essential to his character. In the end, Izzy Asper was addicted as much to the game as to its rewards. What made him so special was his ability to create warm, electric moments among his friends and loyalists, yet inspire fear in his critics and enemies. Izzy is Canadian business history at its best, a masterful portrait of the man who was, for decades, the country's leading media mogul”.

Ballard, Harold.
Beddoes, Dick. Pal Hal: An Uninhibited, No-Holds-Barred Account of the Life and Times of Harold Ballard.
Safiarik, Allan (ed.). Quotations From Chairman Ballard.

Beaverbrook
Chisholm, Anne and Michael Davie. BeaverBrook: A Life.
Marchildon, Gregory. Profits and Politics: Beaverbrook and the Gilded Age of Canadian Finance.
Richards, David Adams. Lord Beaverbrook

Black, Conrad
McNish, Jacquie. Wrong Way: The Fall of Conrad Black.
Newman, Peter C. The Establishment Man: A Portrait of Power
Siklos, Richard. Shades of Black: Conrad Black and the World's Fastest Growing Press Empire.
Tombs, George. Lord Black: The Biography

Blackburn, Walter
Nolan, Michael. Walter J. Blackburn: A Man For All Media.

Borowski, Joe
Laurence, Lianne. Borowski: A Canadian Paradox.

Bragg, John
Pitts, Gordon. The Codfathers: Lessons from the Atlantic Business Elite

Bronfman, Edgar.
McDowall, Duncan. The Light: Brazilian Traction, Light and Power Company Limited, 1899-1945.
McQueen, Rod. The Icarus Factor: The Rise and Fall of Edgar Bronfman Jr.

Bronfman, Samuel
Marrus, Michael. Mr. Sam: The Life and Times of Samuel Bronfman.
Newman, Peter C. The Bronfman Dynasty.
Newman, Peter C. King of the Castle: The Making of a Dynasty ? Seagrams and the Bronfman Empire.

Campeau, Robert
Babad, Michael and Catherine Mulroney. Campeau: The Building of an Empire.
Rothchild, John. Going For Broke: How Robert Campeau Bankrupted the Retail Industry, Jolted the Junk Bond Market and Brought the Booming Eighties to a Crashing Halt.

Covert, Frank
Bruce, Harry. Corporate Navigator: The Life of Frank Alarming Covert.

Cowpland, Michael
Laver, Ross. Random Excess: The Wild Ride of Michael Cowpland and Corel.

Currie, Richard
Pitts, Gordon. The Codfathers: Lessons from the Atlantic Business Elite

de Grandpre, Jean
Surtees, Lawrence. Pa Bell: A. Jean de Grandpre and the Meteoric Rise of Bell Canada Enterprises.

D'Alessandro, Domenic
Manulife: How Dominic D'Alessandro Built a Global Giant and Fought to Save It.
McQueen, Rod. BUSSTK HG8764.D35M37 2009
“In this engaging book, award-winning business writer Rod McQueen examines how the pugnacious personality and hard-driving leadership style of Dominic D'Alessandro led Manulife Financial to its position as one of the largest and most profitable life insurance companies in North America, and the fourth largest in the world. From D'Alessandro's role in the successful demutualization and conversion of the company to public company status in 1999, which set the stage for Manulife to become a world leader, to D'Alessandro's successful completion of Canada's largest cross-border merger, Manulife captures the story of 15 years of outstanding business leadership.”

Desmarais, Paul
Greber, Dave. Rising to Power: Paul Desmarais and Power Corporation.

Dobbin, Craig.
Reynolds, John, One Hell of a Ride: How Craig Dobbin Built the World’s Largest Helicopter Company BUSSTK HC112.5.D62R49 2008
“One Hell of a Ride traces the life, triumphs and tragedy of Craig Laurence Dobbin, weaving a tale that is inspiring, amusing, tragic and, like its subject, never less than gripping. Dobbin was an irrepressible Newfoundlander who counted prime ministers and U.S. presidents among his friends, teetered on the edge of bankruptcy for much of his life, and remains a legend among all who knew him. Born during the Great Depression, Dobbin built a small empire in real estate and discovered the joy of fishing in remote salmon pools. To reach these he bought a helicopter. Ten years later, he was running CHC Helicopters, a public corporation earning hundreds of millions of dollars annually, most from ferrying men and equipment to offshore oil platforms. He soon grew the company into the largest operation of its kind in the world. When he died in October 2006, Dobbin left behind a legacy of business and personal achievements unmatched by any Canadian of his time. Everyone who dealt with him agrees: they will never see his like again.
For further information about CHC Helicopters see our Company History site.

Eaton, Timothy
Santink, Joy L. Timothy Eaton and the Rise of His Department Store.
McQueen, Rod. The Eatons: The Rise and Fall of Canada's Royal Family.

Fipke, Charles
Frolick, Vernon. Fire Into Ice: Charles Fipke & the Great Diamond Hunt.

Flavelle, Joseph
Bliss, Michael.  Canadian Millionaire: The Life and Business Times of Sir Joseph Flavelle, 1858-1939.

Ganong, David
Pitts, Gordon. The Codfathers: Lessons from the Atlantic Business Elite

Ginter, Ben.
Wenzel, Jan-Udo. Ginter!

Gordon, Crawford
Stewart, Greig. An Arrow Through the Heart: the Life and Times of Crawford Gordon and the Avro Arrow.

Gordon, Donald
Schull, Joseph. The Great Scot: A Biography of Donald Gordon.

Hargrove, Buzz
Hargrove, Buzz. Laying It On the Line: Driving a Hard Bargain In Challenging Times. BUSSTK HD6528.A8H38 2009

Hartog, Robbert
Robbert Hartog: A Lifetime of Changing Lives
Teahen, Shannon  BUSSTK HV28.H37T43 2009

Heinz, H.J.
Skrabec, Quentin R. H.J. Heinz : a Biography.

Holton, Luther H.
Klassen, Henry. Luther H. Holton: A Founding Canadian Entrepreneur.

Horton, Tim
Hunter, Douglas. Open Ice: The Tim Horton Story.

Howe, C.D.
Bothwell, Robert and William Kilbourn. C.D. Howe: A Biography.

Imbeault, Bernard
Pitts, Gordon. The Codfathers: Lessons from the Atlantic Business Elite

Irving, K.C.
DeMont, John. Citizens Irving: K C. Irving and His Legacy.
How, Douglas and Ralph Costello. K C.: The Biography of K C. Irving.
Hunt, Russell and Robert Campbell. K C. Irving: The Art of the Industrialist.
Sawker, Harvey. Twenty-First Century Irvings 2007
From the publisher's site:
"Famed Canadian industrialist K. C. Irving has always been considered the most important figure of the Irving family business empire—an empire of such dominance in its region that only America’s Morgans or Rockefellers merit a valid comparison. K. C. was indeed the pivot man in a relentless relay of work now spanning more than fourteen decades.
Twenty-first Century Irvings leads us through the three generations left in K. C.’s wake, a dozen or more individuals following the Irving tradition—hard work, family loyalty, and an awe-inspiring attention to detail. These contemporary Irvings are trying to do all this while attempting to cast a kinder, gentler Irving image, which those close to the family claim has always been a part of the Irving’s rural New Brunswick makeup.
Twenty-first Century Irvings explores the modern family business, the powerful players behind its continuing success, and the myths that are spread about the wealthy empire. Author Harvey Sawler exposes the truths behind those myths, and predicts the transformation of the family, like the Rockefellers and the Morgans, from industrialists to philanthropists. A business story, a family story, and a Maritime story, this is a book for anyone interested in or affected by the Irving empire."

Ivey, Richard
Armstrong, Frederick Henry. The Iveys of London: An Entrepreneurial and Philanthropic Family

Jodrey, R.A.
Bruce, Harry. The Story of R.A. Jodrey: Entrepreneur.

Johnstone, Lucille
Levy, E. Paul River Queen: The Amazing Story of Tugboat Titan Lucille Johnstone (HE 945.R55L48 2006)
"Rivtow was just a three-boat log-towing operation when Lucille Johnstone came aboard as an unskilled girl Friday in the late 1940s. By the 1980s, Rivtow had taken over its biggest rival to become one of the giants of the marine transportation industry with connections worldwide, and Lucille was the driving force behind its success. As the company grew she worked her way from receptionist to secretary to dispatcher to administrator to CEO and finally, to president. A remarkable feat for a woman in those times, and made even more remarkable in that her unlikely success took place in the male-dominated world of towboating. Lucille Johnstone was as legendary for her kindness and social conscience as she was for her clever negotiating and creative deal making. Because of her selflessness, she unfortunately did not think it necessary to secure her position in the corporation she helped to build, ending up on the outside looking in after a generational shift of ownership. Putting that behind her, Lucille went on with life, this time as a driving force behind Expo 86, the new Vancouver International Airport and St. John Ambulance, among a number of other businesses and charities. Lucille’s many recognitions include an honorary doctorate from UBC as a Woman of Distinction, and being named to both the Order of British Columbia and the Order of Canada.”

Koffler, Murray
Rasky, Frank. Just a Simple Pharmacist: The Story of Murray Koffler, Builder of the Shoppers Drug Mart Empire.

Lundrigan, William
Pitcher, Arthur R. The Set of the Sails: A Tribute to the Life of William J Lundrigan.

Macdonald, William C.
Fong, William Jesse. Sir William C. Macdonald: a Biography.

MacMillan, H.R.
Drushka, Ken. H.R.: A Biography of H.R. MacMillan.

Magna, Frank
Lilley, Wayne. Magna Cum Laude: How Frank Stronach Became Canada's Best Paid Man
BUSSTK HC 112.5.S76L54 2006
[from the publisher's site]:
"The first biography of one of Canada’s most elusive and controversial billionaires.
This is a solid, thorough business book about Frank Stronach, Canada’s most famous rags-to-riches story. The outline is well known: a young Austrian immigrant arrives in Canada in 1955 with fifty dollars in his pocket. He takes menial jobs like washing dishes until he can start a tiny machine shop in Toronto in 1957. The Auto Pact opens up the car-parts business. The company grows and grows, spawning many small union-free factories, until from its Aurora base it employs more than seventy thousand people, and Frank as chairman and owner can pay himself over $54 million in salary.
Yet Wayne Lilley’s book will be the very first about this eccentric, larger than life figure. As a result of dogged research, he has built up a detailed, step-by-step picture of how Magna grew — and recovered from the brink of disaster in 1990, to its present gigantic size.
It’s an amazing story of business success, stranger than fiction, that along the way takes us into the world of car-making, of horse racing (Stronach owns more than 1,000 thoroughbreds and 11 tracks in North America), and of politics (where Frank and his daughter Belinda have both played a role). Yet all the while a shareholders’ 2006 lawsuit against Stronach’s control of the company is ticking like a time bomb . . ."
[http://www.mcclelland.com]

Martin, Paul
Gray, John. Paul Martin: In The Balance.
Gray, John. Paul Martin: The Power of Ambition

McClelland, Jack
King, James. Jack: A Life with Writers. The Story of Jack McClelland.

McConnell, J.W.
Fong, William. J.W. McConnell: Financier, Philanthropist, Patriot.

“J.W. McConnell (1877-1963), born to a poor farming family in Ontario, became one of the wealthiest and most powerful businessmen of his generation - in Canada and internationally.

Early in his career McConnell established the Montreal office of the Standard Chemical Company and began selling bonds and shares in both North America and Europe, establishing relationships that would lead to his enormous financial success. He was involved in numerous businesses, from tramways to ladies' fashion to mining, and served on the boards of several corporations. For nearly fifty years he was president of St Laurence Sugar and late in life he became the owner and publisher of the Montreal Star.

McIvor, George Harold.

Morriss, William E. Chosen Instrument: A History of the Canadian Wheat Board/The McIvor Years.

McLaughlin, Robert Samuel
Robertson, Heather. Driving Force: The McLaughlin Family and the Age of the Car.

Mirvish, "Honest Ed", Edwin.
Batten, Jack. Honest Ed's Story.
Mirvish, Robert Business is People: Viewpoints from Honest Ed's (HF 5465.C34H666 1963)

Molson, John
Hunter, Doug. Molson: The Birth of a Business Empire.
Molson, Karen. The Molsons: Their Lives & Times, 1780-2000.

Munk, Peter
Rohmer, Richard. Golden Phoenix: The Biography of Peter Munk.
Rumball, Donald. Peter Munk: The Making of a Modern Tycoon.

Nichol, Dave
Kirston, Anne. The Edible Man: Dave Nichol, President's Choice, & the Making of Popular Taste.

Oland, Derek
Pitts, Gordon. The Codfathers: Lessons from the Atlantic Business Elite

Pattison , James.
Kelly, Russell. Pattison: Portrait of a Capitalist Superstar.

Pellatt, Henry Mill
Denison, John. Casa Loma and the Man Who Built It.
Oreskovich, Carlie. Sir Henry Pellatt: The King of Casa Loma.

Penna, Paul. (created & ran the Agnico-Eagle Ltd, Gold &  Silver Mining Co.)
Macbeth, Mike. Silver Threads Among the Gold: The Rags to Riches Saga of a Man and His Mines.

Pezim, Murray.
Wells, Jennifer. The Pez: The Manic Life of the Ultimate Promoter.

Redpath, John
Feltoe, Richard. A Gentleman of Substance: The Life and Legacy of John Redpath, 1796-1869.

Reichmanns
Bianco, Anthony.  The Reichmanns: Family, Faith, Fortune, and the Empire of Olympia & Work.
Foster, Peter. Towers of Debt: The Rise and Fall of the Reichmans.

Risley, John
Pitts, Gordon. The Codfathers: Lessons from the Atlantic Business Elite

Rogers, Samuel Edward.
Anthony, Ian. Radio Wizard: Edward Samuel Rogers and the Revolution of Communications
Rogers was a Canadian inventor and this book was nominated for the National Business Book Award. Anthony is a Western graduate.

Rogers, Ted
Hasselt, Caroline van. High Wire Act: Ted Rogers and the Empire that Debt Built.
McDougall, Bruce. Ted Rogers: A Biography.

Roman, Stephen
McKay, Paul. The Roman Empire: The Unauthorized Life and Times of Stephen Roman.

Seaman, Daryl K. "Doc"
Sharpe, Sydney. Staying in the Game: The Remarkable Story of Doc Seaman.
HC112.5.S38S46 2008 Here is some information from the publisher:
"Peter C. Newman called him "the Totem of the Titans." From a small Prairie town, Daryl K. "Doc" Seaman became an icon of Canadian business and hockey. He is one of the last of a breed of postwar entrepreneurs and sportsmen who forged modern Canada, striking deals on a handshake and always keeping their word.
After flying 82 combat missions during the Second World War, Doc Seaman worked in the oil industry with his brothers, turning a small Alberta drilling business into a global giant, Bow Valley Industries. Later, he led a group that brought the Atlanta Flames to Calgary. Still a Flames co-owner, he helped reshape Hockey Canada and restore Canada’s glory in international hockey. Doc Seaman’s life is a remarkable saga of courage, resolve, generosity, and success. It ultimately leaves us not only with a deep appreciation of one iconic Canadian but also with a wider understanding of our country."

Shulman, Morton
Kaster, Susan. Can't Somebody Shut Him Up? The Life and Times of Dr. Morton Shulman.

Simpson, S.M.
Simpson, Sharron. Boards, Boxes, and Bins: S.M. Simpson and the Okanagan Lumber Industry

Smith, Donald
McDonald, Donna. Lord Strathcona: a Biography of Donald Alexander Smith.
Wilson, Keith. Donald Smith and the Canadian Pacific Railway.

Sobey, Frank.
Bruce, Harry. Frank Sobey: The Man and the Empire.

Stonach, Frank .
Lilley, Wayne. Magna Cum Laude: How Frank Stonach Became Canada's Best-Paid Man.
Magna Cum Laude: How Frank Stronach Became Canada's Best-Paid Man (HC 112.5.S76L54 2006)
" The first biography of one of Canada's most elusive and controversial billionaires.
This is a solid, thorough business book about Frank Stronach, Canada's most famous rags-to-riches story. The outline is well known: a young Austrian immigrant arrives in Canada in 1955 with fifty dollars in his pocket. He takes menial jobs like washing dishes until he can start a tiny machine shop in Toronto in 1957. The Auto Pact opens up the car-parts business. The company grows and grows, spawning many small union-free factories, until from its Aurora base it employs more than seventy thousand people, and Frank as chairman and owner can pay himself over $54 million in salary.
Yet Wayne Lilley's book will be the very first about this eccentric, larger than life figure. As a result of dogged research, he has built up a detailed, step-by-step picture of how Magna grew — and recovered from the brink of disaster in 1990, to its present gigantic size.
It's an amazing story of business success, stranger than fiction, that along the way takes us into the world of car-making, of horse racing (Stronach owns more than 1,000 thoroughbreds and 11 tracks in North America), and of politics (where Frank and his daughter Belinda have both played a role). Yet all the while a shareholders' 2006 lawsuit against Stronach's control of the company is ticking like a time bomb . . . "

Taylor, E.P.
Rohmer, Mchard. E. P. Taylor: The Biography of Edward Plunkett Taylor.

Thomson, Ken
Parsons, Vic. Ken Thomson: Canada's Enigmatic Billionaire.

van Horn, William C.
Knowles, Valerie. From Telegrapher To Titan: The Life of William C. van Horn.

Wood, Geoffrey
Tughan, Samuel. Mr. Sanitation: The Authorized Illustrated Biography of Geoffrey H. Wood.

COLLECTIVE WORKS

Often biographical profiles come in the form of essays buried in collective works. Below we provide a list of such books. In some cases we have indicated who is profiled in the work and in others you may be able to see which biographical profiles are provided by clicking on the link.

The Money Rustlers: Self-Made Millionaries of the New West
Paul Grescoe and David Cruise (HC 112.5.A2G74 1985)
"Let us therefore welcome The Money Rustlers, a book about Western millionaires by Westerners. And about time, too: national media attention, as authors [Paul Grescoe] and [David Cruise] put it, has consisted of "comic-relief profiles." (They name no names, but Peter C. Newman's 1981 trivia pursuit, The Acquisitors, does spring to mind.) Carma Ltd. paid him $130 million for his half of Allarco (his partnership with Zane Feldman ended in acrimony). The complex deal gave Carma a wildly mixed bag of assets that took five years to untangle; it enabled [Charles Allard] to face the 1980s with the assets he judged appropriate to hard times - notably land (his Leduc ranch plus 19,000 acres near Palm Springs) and an entertainment medium (Edmonton's ITV, where the cult comedy program SCTV was born). Even though Grescoe and Cruise avoid "comic-relief profiles," they cannot avoid reality, and so a certain amount of gonzo capitalism sneaks in. In learning about Winnipegger [Peter Nygard], founder of Tan Jay women's wear, we learn about his incessant womanizing because, well, there it is. (He's honest, though: nobody is ever promised exclusive rights. Even his very temporary wife was told she would have only 6 per cent of his time.)" -- Penny Williams The Gazette Nov 16, 1985.

Includes profiles of Brian Heidecker, Nick Taylor, John Doole, Dr. Charles Allard, John Buhler, Joe Houssian, Jack Singer, the Ghermezians, Peter Nygard, Ed Alfke, Brenda Humber, Gary Hooge, Umberto Menghi, Bruce Allen, Dr. John S. MacDonald, Donald Cormie.

Risk Takers
Alexander Ross (HF5386.R66)
Includes profiles of Dave Hazlewood (Trident Aircraft Ltd.), Phil Japp (Porta-Flex Products Ltd.), Wilson Southam (Cox Systems Ltd.), Don Southern (ATCO), Ian Bruce (Performance Sailcraft Inc.), Russ Benson (Benson Industries Ltd.), Joseph-Armand Bombardier (Bombardier).

Who Owns Canada Now
Diane Francis (HD2809.F813 2008)
Includes profiles of important business people in these industries, among others: Real Estate, Agribusiness, Retail, Forestry, Energy, Mining, Pharmaceuticals, Technology, Entertainment, Cable, Finance, and also Industrialists, Investors and Moguls. Examples of the individuals profiled include:  Marcel Adams, Jack Daniels, The Greenbergs, The Reichmanns, Ron Joyce, The Sobeys, The Westons, Wallace McCain, The Richardsons, J.C. Anderson, The Southerns, Rob McEwen, Peter Munk, Seymour Schulich, Leslie Dan, Sir Terence Matthews, Robert Miller, John MacBain, Allan Slaight, The Thomsons, Ted Rogers, J.R. Shaw, Hal Jackman, Stephen Jarislowsky, The Batas, The Bombardiers, The Samuels, Frank Stronach, Michael DeGroote, Paul Hill, The Irvings, The Jodreys, Jimmy Pattison, Gerry Schwartz and Heather Reisman.