Famous Canadian Business People
Popularly known as the Great White North, Canada has been an important pothole of world business deals today. And why not, for it is home to some of the most proficient deal makers and influential pedlars of the west. Call them business magnates or trade honchos, they are the true moguls of business who have helped Canada become a powerhouse that it is today. Who can undermine the contribution of Pattison Empire by still-effervescent Jim Pattison who has dodged age as just a number? Can you ignore the efforts by Heather Reisnman as the CEO of Indigo Books & Music Inc? The name Paul Browning is enough to define the next generation Canadian oil and gas market. Had Frank Mckenna had a LinkedIn profile, the internet would surely have been jammed! Does the name Mark Wiseman ring a bell? Sure it does, for he is responsible for managing the largest pot of investable money in Canada; his decisions affecting the fate of 18 million Canadians! The boardrooms and backrooms of Canada’s top business houses wouldn’t have worked as efficiently as they are, had these men and women not acted as torchbearers! Peek-a-boo into this section and update yourself with the profile, life and works of some of the most influential and famous Canadian business magnates.
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1
Kevin O’Leary(Canadian Entrepreneur and Television Personality Who Has Appeared on the Reality Shows ‘Dragons’ Den’ and ‘Shark Tank')
Birthdate: July 9, 1954
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Montreal, Canada
Canadian business magnate Kevin O'Leary founded SoftKey, which was later acquired by Mattel and renamed The Learning Company. He also appeared on Shark Tank, Dragons’ Den, and The Lang and O'Leary Exchange. He was in the run for the leadership of the Conservative Party of Canada but dropped out later.
2
Robert Herjavec(Investor & Founder of ‘The Herjavec Group’, One of the Largest IT & Computer Security Companies in Canada)
Birthdate: September 14, 1962
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Varaždin, Croatia
Investor Robert Herjavec founded the internet security software BRAK Systems, which he later sold to AT&T. He also established the Herjavec Group and turned it into one of Canada’s biggest IT security firms. He has also appeared in Dragons' Den and Shark Tank, and has authored several business books.
Birthdate: April 28, 1978
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Vancouver, Canada
Drew Scott is best known for hosting Property Brothers and Buying and Selling with his twin brother, Jonathan. The twins are also owners of the brands Scott Living and Dream Homes, and have founded Scott Brothers Entertainment, with another bother. An avid philanthropist, he was named a "Habitat Humanitarian."
Birthdate: September 3, 1976
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Sri Lanka
Chamath Palihapitiya went from being a Sri Lankan refugee in Canada to a successful venture capitalist. He founded Social Capital and has also worked at Facebook. He was the youngest vice-president of AOL. He co-owns the Golden State Warriors basketball team and has invested in Palantir, Pure Storage, and Playdom.
Birthdate: August 20, 1986
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Linus Sebastian is a Canadian YouTube personality whose technology channel Linus Tech Tips is ranked highly among Google's most preferred advertising channels for the technology category on YouTube. Also an entrepreneur, Sebastian owns a video sharing platform called Floatplane Media. Sebastian is also credited with founding Linus Media Group for which he has been serving as the CEO since 2013.
6
Jack L Warner(Canadian-American Film Executive and Founder of ‘Warner Brothers. Studios’)
Birthdate: August 2, 1892
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: London, Canada
Died: September 9, 1978
One of 12 children of Polish immigrants, Jack L Warner, along with three of his brothers, formed the iconic production house Warner Bros. Apart from producing the first talkie, The Jazz Singer, and iconic films such as Casablanca, they also launched the careers of the who’s who of Hollywood.
Birthdate: June 5, 1939
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: High River, Canada
Joe Clark is a Canadian statesman, businessman, and politician. In 1979, he became the youngest person to be elected as the prime minister of Canada and served in this position until 1980. He lost the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 1983 before gaining prominence once again in 1984 when he served as a senior cabinet minister.
8
Mark Carney
(Governor of the Bank of England (2013 - 2020))
Birthdate: March 16, 1965
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Fort Smith, Canada
After his 13-year stint with Goldman Sachs, Mark Carney served as the governor of the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England. He was also part of the Canadian finance department. He is an ice-hockey lover and played the sport actively during the school and university days.
9
René Angélil
(Manager and Husband of Singer Celine Dion)
Birthdate: January 16, 1942
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Montréal, Québec, Canada
Died: January 14, 2016
René Angélil is best remembered as singer Céline Dion’s manager and, later, husband. Born to Syrian immigrants in Canada, he grew up to be a talent manager and music producer. He met Dion when she was 12 and he was 38, and began dating her when she was 20.
Birthdate: October 4, 1978
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Calgary
Tech magnate Garrett Camp made headlines in 2020 when he quit his position of board director of Uber, a company co-founded by him, to focus on its product strategy. Camp has also formed companies such as StumbleUpon and the start-up incubator Expa Labs, and is part of The Giving Pledge.
Birthdate: July 23, 1849
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Amherstburg, Canada
Died: September 23, 1919
Canadian-American frontiersman, hardware store owner, sheriff, U.S. Marshal, horse breeder and hotel owner Seth Bullock is best known for building the Bullock Hotel, the oldest hotel in Deadwood. Bullock was appointed the first sheriff of the then lawless Dakota where he eventually emerged as a prominent figure civilizing the rowdy camp without killing anyone.
Birthdate: August 3, 1963
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Halton Hills, Ontario, Canada
Birthdate: June 16, 1964
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Port Hawkesbury
Canadian writer Robin Sharma is best known for his The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari book series. A qualified lawyer, he is an alumnus of the Schulich School of Law at Dalhousie University. He has published several books on stress management and spirituality. He is the founder of the training company Sharma Leadership International.
14
Peter Nygård
(Businessperson known for Founding Nygård International)
Birthdate: July 24, 1941
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Helsinki, Finland
15
Shane Smith
(Canadian Journalist and Executive Chairman of 'Vice Media')
Birthdate: September 28, 1969
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Ottawa, Canada
Vice co-founder and CEO Shane Smith is a renowned journalist and entrepreneur whose work has taken him to remote and war-torn places such as North Korea and Liberia. Listed as one of Canada's Richest People in 2015, he is a self-made millionaire with riches such as an 8-bedroom California mansion.
16
Jack Kent Cooke
(Businessman)
Birthdate: October 25, 1912
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Died: April 6, 1997
17
Galen Weston
(Entrepreneur)
Birthdate: October 29, 1940
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Marlow
18
Paul Snider
(Canadian Pimp, Nightclub Promoter, and Murderer)
Birthdate: April 15, 1951
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Vancouver
Died: August 14, 1980
19
Lawrence Stroll
(Owner of the Aston Martin F1 Team)
Birthdate: July 11, 1959
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
20
Michael Rapino
(Chief Executive Officer of Live Nation Entertainment)
Birthplace: Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada
21
Joseph Tsai
(Businessman, Philanthropist)
Birthdate: 1964
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Taipei City, Taipei, Taiwan
22
Elizabeth Arden
(Canadian-American Businesswoman)
Birthdate: December 31, 1878
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Woodbridge, Ontario, Canada
Died: October 18, 1966
23
Feras Antoon
(Syrian-Canadian Pornographer & Co-owner and CEO of 'Mindgeek', the World's Largest Pornography Company)
Birthdate: June 29, 1975
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Damascus, Syria
Canadian pornographer Feras Antoon is best known as co-founder and CEO of the privately held Canadian company called MindGeek that mainly focuses on pornography. It is considered to be the largest pornography company across the world and runs many popular pornographic video sharing websites like Pornhub, YouPorn and RedTube, and also adult film production companies like Brazzers and Reality Kings.
24
Sunanda Pushkar
(Indian-born Canadian Businesswoman)
Birthdate: June 27, 1962
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Sopore, Jammu and Kashmir, India
Died: January 17, 2014
25
Scott McGillivray
(Canadian Entrepreneur and TV Host Best Known as the Star & Producer of HGTV Series 'Income Property' & 'Buyers Bootcamp')
Birthdate: April 7, 1978
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada
The star of hit HGTV series such as Income Property and Moving the McGillivrays, Scott McGillivray also owns real-estate and entertainment firms. He is also a Habitat for Humanity Canada ambassador and has penned bestselling home improvement and real-estate investing books. He divides time between his homes in Ontario and Florida.
26
Michael Lee-Chin
(Chairman and CEO of Portland Holdings Inc)
Birthdate: January 3, 1951
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Port Antonio, Jamaica
Michael Lee-Chin is a Jamaican-Canadian businessman and philanthropist. He is best known for his association with a privately held investment company named Portland Holdings Inc., where he serves as the CEO and chairman. A well-known philanthropist, Michael Lee-Chin has donated millions of dollars to educational institutions and museums across Canada.
27
David Thomson, 3rd Baron Thomson of Fleet
(Chairman of Thomson Corporation and also inherited his father's British title, Baron Thomson of Fleet)
Birthdate: June 12, 1957
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Toronto, Canada
28
Sergio Marchionne
(Businessman Known for His Turnarounds of the Automakers 'Fiat' and 'Chrysler')
Birthdate: June 17, 1952
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Chieti, Abruzzo, Italy
Died: July 25, 2018
Italian-Canadian businessman Sergio Marchionne turned around the fortune of Fiat as its CEO. A qualified lawyer, he initially worked as a tax consultant. Throughout his illustrious career, he had led companies such as Lawson Mardon, Algroup, and Chrysler Group. He was mostly found in his trademark black sweater.
29
Jim Pattison
(Entrepreneur, Businessperson)
Birthdate: October 1, 1928
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Saskatoon
30
Suroosh Alvi
(Canadian Journalist, Filmmaker and Co-Founder of the Media Brand 'Vice Media')
Birthdate: March 26, 1969
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Toronto, Canada
Suroosh Alvi is a Canadian filmmaker and journalist of Pakistani origin. He is credited with co-founding a digital media and broadcasting company called Vice Media which is currently operating in over 50 countries. As a filmmaker, Suroosh Alvi has produced documentaries that deal with controversial issues, such as the Iraq War and the rise of global terrorism.
Birthdate: May 16, 1955
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: New York City, New York, USA
Seagram heir Edgar Bronfman Jr. initially avoided joining his family business. Skipping college, he set out to make a career in music and movies, making the commercially unsuccessful film The Border. He later joined Seagram and also served Warner Music as its CEO. He is now the chairman of FuboTV.
32
Brian Tracy
(Canadian-American Self-Development Author and Motivational Public Speaker)
Birthdate: January 5, 1944
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Charlottetown, Canada
33
Maxime Bernier
(Canadian Politician)
Birthdate: January 18, 1963
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: St-Georges-de-Beauce, Quebec, Canada
34
Nathaniel Philip Rothschild
(Financier, Economist and Banker)
Birthdate: July 12, 1971
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: London, United Kingdom
35
Yael Cohen(Businesswoman and Wife of American Music Manager Scooter Braun)
Birthdate: November 4, 1986
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: South Africa
South African-Canadian mining heiress Yael Cohen is the daughter of David Cohen, co-founder of Gold Wheaton Gold Corp. She is an avid philanthropist and co-founded the cancer research organization Fuck Cancer after her mother was diagnosed with the disease. She is also a senior advisor for Bumble.
36
Michael Latifi
(Owner, Chairman and CEO of Sofina Foods Inc.)
Birthdate: 1962
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Imperial State of Iran
37
Edgar Bronfman Sr.
(Businessman)
Birthdate: June 20, 1929
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Montreal, Canada
Died: December 21, 2013
Edgar Bronfman Sr. was a Canadian-American entrepreneur best remembered for his role as president, treasurer, and CEO for the popular multinational conglomerate, Seagram. Bronfman was also a philanthropist who helped organizations like Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life. In 1999, he was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
38
Stewart Butterfield
(Entrepreneur)
Birthdate: May 1, 1973
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Lund, British Columbia, Canada
Birthdate: November 8, 1927
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Budapest
Peter Munk was a Hungarian-Canadian investor, businessman, and philanthropist. He is credited with founding numerous high-profile business ventures, such as Clairtone Sound Corporation Limited, Barrick Gold Corporation, and TrizecHahn Corporation. He also helped found the Peter and Melanie Munk Charitable Foundation which has given away over $300 million to various non-profit organizations that aim at improving the lives of Canadians.
40
Guy Laliberte
(Entrepreneur)
Birthdate: September 2, 1959
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
41
Frank McKenna
(Politician, Lawyer, Banker, Diplomat)
Birthdate: January 19, 1948
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Apohaqui, New Brunswick
Frank McKenna is a Canadian businessman who is currently serving as the Toronto-Dominion Bank's Deputy Chairman. A former politician, McKenna served as the premier of New Brunswick between 1987 and 1997. An influential and authoritative leader, McKenna was expected to lead the federal Liberal Party in 2008 after the resignation of Stéphane Dion. However, he didn't contest for the position.
42
Victor Li Tzar-kuoi
(Chair of the board and group co-managing director of CK Hutchison Holdings Limited)
Birthdate: August 1, 1964
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Deep Water Bay, Hong Kong
Birthdate: May 12, 1941
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Virden
44
Anna Olson
(American Pastry Chef )
Birthdate: May 4, 1968
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Atlanta, Georgia, United States
45
Christy Chung
(Canadian Restaurateur and Actress)
Birthdate: September 19, 1970
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
46
Richard Li
(Founder of STAR TV and Pacific Century Group)
Birthdate: November 8, 1966
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: British Hong Kong
47
Alvin Leung
(English-born Hong Kong-Canadian Television Personality and Chef)
Birthdate: March 13, 1961
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: London, England, United Kingdom
48
Eugene Melnyk
(Chief executive officer)
Birthdate: May 27, 1959
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Toronto
49
Nav Bhatia
(Business people)
Birthdate: July 9, 1951
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: New Delhi, Delhi, India
50
Susur Lee
(Canadian Celebrity Chef)
Birthdate: December 27, 1958
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Hong Kong