C.B.H.F.
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Class of 1982
Donald Gordon was born in Oldmeldrum, Scotland, in 1901 and came to Canada at an early age and had four distinct careers.
At the age of 15 he joined the Bank of Nova Scotia in Toronto, becoming assistant chief accountant and assistant manager of the Toronto branch. In 1935, he was appointed Secretary of the Bank of Canada and later became deputy governor. Throughout the Second World War, he was Chairman of the Wartime Prices and Trade Board, a remarkable assembly of the topmost business talent.
Donald Gordon is remembered best as a railroad man. As President of the Canadian National Railway from 1950 to 1966, Gordon transformed it from a state of virtual exhaustion to a modern corporation capable of competing aggressively with other rail and rapidly expanding airline and trucking industries.
Following retirement from CNR, he accepted the presidency of the British Newfoundland Corporation. The financing and construction phases of Brinco’s massive Churchill Falls power project occurred under this leadership.
In 1944, he was made a Companion of the Order of Saint Michael and Saint George. In 1968, he was made a Companion of the Order of Canada.
Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario has honoured Donald Gordon, naming a university residence Donald Gordon House, and its conference centre Donald Gordon Centre.