Charles Bentall headed Dominion Construction, one of Canada’s foremost construction companies. Born in England in 1881, Charles was apprenticing as a draughtsman by the age of 14 and eventually became a practicing engineer. He immigrated to Canada in 1908, with only 60 cents in his pocket.

First employed by J. Coughlan & Sons in Vancouver, he designed the dome of the Vancouver Court House (now the Vancouver Art Gallery) as well as the seventeen-story World Building, once the tallest building in the British Empire. In 1912 he moved to the newly-formed Dominion Construction, where he was hired as an assistant general manager and first engineer. In less than ten years, Bentall became the president and majority shareholder.

During Bentall’s time at Dominion he expanded the company significantly, diversifying into property management and developing commercial real estate that defined Vancouver’s skyline. Its success propelled the company forward, allowing Dominion to expand eastward.

Aided by government contracts and Bentall’s strong leadership, Dominion survived the difficult war years. During the Depression, Charles founded the New Building Finance Company for the purpose of offering low interest loans to local tradesmen.

Bentall was also known as a steadfast supporter of the Baptist Church and aided in the building of several churches. He served for fifty years as a trustee for the Convention of Baptist Churches, and was president for three of these years. Charles and his wife had three sons, two of whom became engineers and went to work for Dominion Construction. After Bentall’s death in 1972 his sons continued at the company, and his son Clark eventually became CEO.

Dominion continues to be a major player in its industry, and its practices are both enduring and innovative. In the post-war years it was the first to offer the concept of the “Package Plan,” providing design, site development, and financial assistance. As of 2008 Dominion is still going strong, handling over $200 million annually.

A man of integrity, Bentall always believed that “honesty, truth, justice, unselfish love, and a willingness to work hard are real virtues, without which life is immeasurably impoverished.”

Maxwell Bell was born in 1912, graduating with a McGill University Commerce degree in 1932. He would eventually become accomplished as not only a businessman and entrepreneur, but also as an oilman, newspaper publisher, sportsman and philanthropist.

Max was known for his keen business sense, and frequently supported innovative, unproven, and risky ventures. Obtaining a contract to provide railway ties to the Canadian Pacific Railway, Bell invested the profits in a dormant Turner Valley oil company. This investment and others paid off during the 1947 Alberta oil boom.

He inherited his father’s newspaper, the Calgary Albertan, as well as its half-million-dollar debt, when he was only 23 years of age. Within two years he was able to pay off his father’s debts, and within three he was turning a profit once more.

By the mid-1950s, Max had acquired controlling interest in several western newspapers.  He formed a partnership with Victor Sifton and Richard S. Malone of the Winnipeg Free Press, which resulted in one of Canada’s largest newspaper chain, Federated Paper Publications. In 1961, Bell was made Chairman of this organization, which included Toronto’s Globe & Mail, the Vancouver Sun, and the Ottawa Journal, among others.

In addition to newspapers and oil, Max served as a Director of the Canadian Pacific Railway, the Bank of Nova Scotia, Northern Electric, and many other major Canadian corporations. Though a successful man, Max remained largely indifferent to the trappings of wealth, often quoted as saying: “The only time money is really important is when a person hasn’t any.”

Bell was also recognized internationally as a sportsman, playing both football and hockey. His passion for race horses prompted his investments in the breeding of thoroughbreds, and his stables, Golden West Farms, won the coveted Queen’s Plate as well as The Irish Derby. Many of his friends shared his interest in racing, including Bing Crosby and legendary jockey, Johnny Longden. Bell was inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame in 1977.

A kind supporter of public and private causes, Max served on the Fitness and Amateur Sport Council, and was Hockey Canada’s first Chairman. Establishing the Max Bell Foundation in 1972, the year of his death, the fields of health, fitness, and veterinary medicine continue to benefit from his generosity.

Upon his death, former Prime Minister of Canada, the Rt. Honourable Lester Pearson, had this to say about Max Bell: “He was above all things a builder, and an imaginative and successful one, with a vision that went far beyond his own private interest and encompassed many good causes which he felt would help Canada. He will be greatly missed.”

J. Allyn Taylor joined Canada Trust in 1935 and became its President in 1958. Superior customer service, product innovations and astute analysis of the competition were personal ingredients he used to build Canada Trust into of the largest financial institutions in Canada.

Allyn Taylor maintained a personal and human approach to the business with obvious joy in working with people. He has given unselfish direction to a broad spectrum of voluntary undertakings in Canada in business, health care, education and the arts.

His career is witness to his conviction that leadership demands integrity, and calls for willingness to delegate authority as well as responsibility and courage to make decisions once the facts are known.

Samuel Moore founded the successful business forms company, Moore Corporation.

Samuel began working at various jobs in the printing industry at the young age of 12, and ten years later he opened his own printing shop in Toronto.  In 1882, a mechanically produced sales book that gave both customer and storekeeper a record of transactions caught his eye, and along with a partner he formed the Paragon Black Leaf Counter Check Book Company, where he began producing books containing sales slips with flip-over carbon paper.

Using the slogan “One writing for many purposes”, it took just two years before Samuel’s company was producing the sales books from plants in the United States.  By the time Paragon was renamed Moore Corp., his acquisitions had expanded product lines to include business forms, supplies, and related services.  Moore Corp. went on to become a billion dollar company exporting to more than 45 countries.

Samuel also founded the Metropolitan Bank of Toronto, and when it was later absorbed by the Bank of Nova Scotia, he became President and Chairman of Scotiabank, as well as holding directorships with many other companies.

He played an important role in the development of the YMCA in Canada, and was a major supporter of the Canadian Baptist Church.

On success, Samuel said: “Success is to have done that which has benefited the largest number of people, and which has left the world better because you have lived.”

Allen T. Lambert was born in 1911, and is remembered primarily for his outstanding contributions to the Toronto-Dominion Bank and his immense influence on the Canadian financial services sector.

Lambert joined the Bank of Toronto in 1927 at just fifteen years of age, working as an $8-per-week junior clerk at a branch in Victoria, British Columbia. His talent and progressive leadership allowed Lambert to rise steadily in the ranks, and in 1940 he was moved east to become the accountant at the Brockville, Ontario branch. Three years later his career was interrupted by a two year stint in the armed forces, at the end of which he retired as a Navy Lieutenant.

Lambert was made superintendent of the Toronto head office in 1953. As superintendent, he was an integral figure in the merger of The Dominion Bank and the Bank of Toronto in 1955. His performance was rewarded by his appointment to general manager; at the age of 47, Lambert was the youngest general manager of any Canadian bank at that time.

In 1960, Lambert became President of the Toronto-Dominion Bank. He led the bank into international expansion, opening foreign branches in Singapore, Tokyo and South America. Lambert also viewed the construction of the Toronto Dominion Centre as a great source of personal pride – designed by world-renowned architect Mies van der Rohe, the TD Centre revolutionized the Toronto landscape.

Lambert devoted over fifty years of his life to the Bank. Retiring as CEO in 1977 and as Chairman in 1978, he continued to act as an advisor for many years and was also active outside of the Bank. He was a contributing member to the Board of Directors of several high-standing Canadian companies, and served as President of the International Monetary Conference.

Allen Lambert was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1976, and received numerous honorary degrees from several Canadian institutions. He passed away in 2002, at the age of 90.

Ian David Sinclair, a man whose authority was based on personal toughness and an unsurpassed ability for negotiations. After taking a job with Canadian Pacific Railway legal department in 1942 he soon became known as a first rate litigation lawyer and an extremely able labour negotiator. Newspapers called him the Perry Mason of Railway law. At the age of forty he became Canadian Pacific’s General Counsel.

Ian scored some impressive victories for the company. He helped CP Air win the right to compete against Air Canada on transcontinental routes. When the MacPherson Royal Commission on freight rates was launched – resulting in the 1967 National Transportation Act – Ian Sinclair participated in 26 months of exhaustive, cross-country hearings. It’s not surprising he was appointed to the CPR Board’s executive committee and in 1996 he became president and in 1997 chairman of the company. He fought for changes to the Crows Nest Freight rates and a break from money losing passenger lines.

Ian Sinclair described his own career this way: “You look back and realize that you sure gave up a lot of things that people today seem to have fun doing. But, you also get fun out of accomplishment.”

Jean-Baptiste Rolland – merchant, industrialist, risk-taker, politician – a self made man who illustrates well the type of social ascent characteristic of the 19^th century.

At the age of 25 he became a master printer and tasted his first experience as entrepreneur. With his long time friend John Thompson he purchased an old printing house for 300 dollars. But, the Rolland and Thompson firm was short lived. His partner decided to retire from the business, and Jean-Baptiste pressed on. He soon expanded his enterprise by opening a new business – the Librairie Catholique de Jean-Baptiste Rolland. Then he opened a bookstore, added stationery lines, engravings and imported merchandise from Europe. This business evolved into publishing school and religious texts and later Canadian authors. After bringing his son, Damian into business the operation’s name changed to J.B. Rolland & Fils.

To ensure his own supplies of high quality paper, only available through import, Jean-Baptiste started a mill in the Laurentians. Eighteen months after the construction start, the first sheet of fine quality all-rag paper produced in Canada rolled off the line.

Jean-Baptiste became increasingly involved in the affairs of his community. He won a seat on the municipal council of Montreal. He also became president of the Saint Jean-Baptiste Association of Montreal. He was also appointed to the Montreal Harbour Commission.

Noah Anthony Timmins became one of Canada’s most celebrated mining entrepreneurs. Following his father’s death, Noah and his younger brother Henry tended the family’s general store in Mattawa. But each summer they left the relative comfort of being main street merchants to go prospecting. In 1903 they met Fred LaRose who discovered what appeared to be a promising silver strike. Henry Timmins bought LaRose’s share of the claim. The foundations of a mining empire had been laid. The LaRose silver mine was later sold for one million dollars.

In 1909 Noah bought the rights to the claim that was one of the richest gold finds in North America. The Hollinger mine was ready to begin operations in 1911. The next year, the small town that sprung up around the mine site was incorporated as Timmins, Ontario. Over the next twenty years, the mine paid out more than seventy five million dollars in dividends.

Noah Timmins played the role of financier with the same boundless enthusiasm as he had the role of prospector and grubstaker. The Timmins brothers and their partners formed the Canadian Mining and Finance Company. This in turn became Hollinger Consolidated Mines Limited with Noah as president.

Sir Clifford Sifton, politician, businessman, administrative genius, inspired communicator, and Minister of the Interior for Canada (1896-1905) in the Laurier Administration. He resigned from office in 1905. In 1909 he was appointed Chairman of the Canadian Conservation Commission.

After withdrawing from active political life he pursued an independent, but influential course in politics, mostly behind scenes.

Sir Clifford Sifton combined press and politics to start one of Canada’s largest media enterprises, the Manitoba (Winnipeg) Free Press. He was also instrumental in formation of the Canadian Western Light, Heat and Power Company.

Sir Clifford’s other ambitions were to build a $250 million shipping canal from Georgian Bay to Montreal and a shipping line from Australia to Britain that would have used Canadian Railway and an overland link.

Sir John Chalker Crosbie born in Newfoundland to a family who ran a small hotel in St. John’s. It was the leading establishment of its day and boasted of having electric lights and a bathroom on every floor.

At age 24, John Crosbie started the family’s flagship operation, Crosbie and Company. It was the first major local exporter of fish. Sir John realized early in life that the route to success in business is through connections. He worked tirelessly to find international markets for the fish that were the lifeblood of the British Colony. He eventually won a major portion of the island’s export business. He soon began to diversify moving into fish oil products, insurance, shipping and construction and later a major margarine operation – The Newfoundland Butter Company.

Sir John’s involvement in politics seemed almost a natural extension of his business life. In the sparsely populated island business success was synonymous with power. He was elected to the Newfoundland government in 1908 and a year later became a member of the Executive. He was placed in charge of the islands shipping during the most serious tonnage crisis in Newfoundland. He also saw to it that the Home Government in London received ships for the war effort. For this service he was named a Knight of the British Empire. After the war Sir John moved to the finance portfolio in the Monroe government, a position he retained until his retirement in 1928.

Robert Samuel McLaughlin transformed his father’s Oshawa carriage business into General Motors of Canada. The workmanship was of such high quality that demand soon outgrew the little shop in the countryside and the McLaughlins moved to Oshawa.

Sam was soon designing all of the McLaughlin carriages and by the turn of the century they were turning out 25,000 units a year. It was about that time that Sam saw something that would change his life. At the time, there were only about five cars in Toronto. But in the United States, carriage makers and others were turning out ever increasing number of horseless carriages. It was time to take a serious look.

Despite his father’s skepticism, Sam McLaughlin made a deal that would see the Oshawa company design and build a Canadian coach with the Buick Motor Company supplying engines. The McLaughlin Motor Company, with Sam McLaughlin as President, was established in 1907. The company produced 193 cars in its first year. With carriage sales shrinking and car sales on the rise, the McLaughlin Company decided to throw in its lot with General Motors.

Sam McLaughlin was a public benefactor financing projects like extensions to Oshawa hospital, and donated the city’s public library building. Other buildings include the engineering building at Queen’s University in Kingston and the McLaughlin Planetarium in Toronto