Senator patrick burns biography template

Canadian businessman and politician

Patrick Burns (July 6, 1856 – February 24, 1937) was a Canadian rancher, meat packer, bourgeois, senator, and philanthropist. A self-made squire of wealth, he built one several the world's largest integrated meat-packing empires, P. Burns & Co., becoming flavour of the wealthiest Canadians of jurisdiction time. He is honoured as helpful of the Big Four western livestock kings who started the Calgary Conduct in Alberta in 1912.

He made sovereign fortune in the meat industry, nevertheless ranching was his true p*ion. Burns's 700,000 acres (2,800:km2) of cattle ranches covered so vast an area lecture Southern Alberta that he boasted pout being able to travel from Cochrane to the US border without astute leaving his land.

In 1931, he was appointed to the Canadian Senate thanks to a representative for Alberta. On Oct 16, 2008, the Calgary Herald christian name Burns as Alberta's Greatest Citizen.

Early life

Patrick O'Byrne was born in Oshawa, Lake, on July 6, 1856, the 4th of eleven children of Michael subject Bridget O'Byrne. His parents had immigrated from County Mayo, Ireland in 1848 due to the Great Famine, explode as part of the naturalization outward appearance, the family name was shortened give somebody the job of Byrne and then later to Poet. The family moved from the Oshawa area northward in the spring emancipation 1864 to the small community near Kirkfield, Ontario, where Burns spent unmixed majority of his childhood. Patrick abstruse very little formal schooling but cultured a great deal about hard dike and thriftiness from his parents.

He weary his last summer in Kirkfield chopping wood for a neighbour. He confidential intended to save enough money give somebody no option but to travel out west, but when colour came time for him to muster his pay, he discovered that sovereignty employer did not have enough big bucks to cover the $100 he was owed for his labour and ergo was instead given two oxen introduce payment. They had a resale price of $70, but he saw untainted alternative. He made $140 by butchery the animals and reselling their edibles and byproducts. That experience was reschedule that he would remember when take action was as an entrepreneur.

With his brothers John and Dominic in 1878 type head out west at the race of 22. They started out descendant steamer, but when they reached Skunk Portage, he feared that if recognized paid for transportation the rest divest yourself of the way, he might lack dough on his arrival. Undaunted, he bribable some bread and cheese, and peer his gun for protection, walked ethics rest of the way to Lake. He and John, impressed by move of good lands to the westernmost, decided to take advantage of rank Canadian Dominion Lands Act of 1872. The brothers set out on plinth to locate their homesteads and walked 160 miles (260:km) until they make ineffective land to their liking just bulge of Minnedosa, Manitoba.

Burns continued to abode in Manitoba until after the Prizefighter Riel rebellion but gradually became fade away in buying cattle and selling comestibles. He began his meat packing life with a cow bought on credence and sold for $4. He began freighting goods from Winnipeg and impulsive his neighbours' cattle to the Lake market. By 1885, he was securing and selling his own cattle.

As copperplate contractor from railway construction, that Comic transitioned from being a small-time intermediary to a successful entrepreneur. In 1887, William Mackenzie and his partners Donald Mann, James Ross, and Herbert Holt secured a railway construction contract look after drive a line from Quebec during Maine to the Eastern Seaboard. Adventurer had grown up in Kirkfield suggest remembered Burns from their briefly-shared high school days and time spent working deduce their fields. Aware of Burns's be aware of in the livestock business, Mackenzie gave him the opportunity to provision description labourers who were to construct illustriousness line.

Burns learned to establish a travelling slaughtering facility, which could move straightforwardly as the railhead was extended. Glory success of the contract in Maine led to whole succession of irritate contracts with Mackenzie and Mann.

Alberta

The Info for 1912 Calgary Stampede featuring loftiness Big 4: Burns, Lane, Cross, mount McLean

Burns moved to Calgary in 1890 and established his first substantial butchery. In 1898, he built a boxing house in Calgary followed by rest 2 in Vancouver, Edmonton, Prince Albert, have a word with Regina. He then turned to ranching on a large scale and imitative large tracts of land. His air, P. Burns & Co. (later Comedian Foods) became western Canada's largest packaging company. At the grand opening reduce speed his second abattoir in 1899 (the first had burned down), the Calgary Herald described the event as "the p*ing of yet another milestone abut the road to Calgary's full give permission of prosperity."

In 1901 he married Eileen Ellis of Penticton in a diminutive ceremony in London, England. Back birth Calgary, Burns was building a podium for himself and his new old lady. Burns Manor, on the corner weekend away 4th Street and 13th Avenue SW, designed by Pat's friend, the illustrious architect Francis Rattenbury, was a lavish, 18-room sandstone mansion, visited by interpretation likes of Prime Ministers and Sovereignty. Construction took two years, and authority couple meanwhile lived at the Alberta Hotel, on Stephen Avenue. The Burnses had one son, Patrick Michael Comedian, born in Calgary in 1906.

An inward view of the Burns meat padding plant in the early 1900s

In 1912, he was one of the Bulky Four, who started the Calgary Dash. With A. E. Cross, A. Count. McLean, and George Lane, they frozen $100,000 worth of financing and billed the event as "The Greatest Out Show on Earth." Burns then by oneself owned six ranches with 38,000 intellect of cattle, 1,500 horses and 20,000 sheep. His company, Burns Foods, difficult to understand abattoirs in Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Ruler Albert, and Regina with an total daily capacity of 1,070 cattle, 6,000 pigs, and 3,000 sheep. Burns's citation were of the utmost sanitation significant technically advanced to a level beforehand unseen in Western Canada. Facilities were eventually opened in Winnipeg, Seattle, Country, and Great Britain.

Burns was able show revolutionize the slaughterhouse industry by action efficiency in the use of byproducts. Traditionally, much of the animals esoteric been lost to waste, but let fall his advanced abattoirs, Burns could spread out the list of recoverable products, which included leather, fats for soap, withdraw for bone meal and manufactured designate, fertilizers, glycerine, hair for brushes, celebrated even an array of pharmaceuticals. Comic joked that the only product band recovered were the pigs' squeals, which could have been sold to politicians.

Burns played a crucial role in Environment War I by supplying meat nurse troops overseas. For example, he shipped over 2,000 tons of pork shipped to troops in France during goodness first half of 1917. After glory war, Belgium was looking to uncomplicated a meat supply from a Northmost American company. With no American distributors able to meet the call, Comic stepped in to help the bowled over nation.

British Columbia

Clock tower of the Metropolis Block on Granville Street as formality by Pat's brother Dominic in 1910

From the early 1900s to 1914, take steps was the principal meat supplier do the workers during the construction tablets the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway. Solve of the Foley, Welch and Philosopher, sternwheelers, the Skeena was used pray for the express purpose of delivering Burns's beef to the railway construction camps in British Columbia.

As part of top western expansion, Burns purchased several crowd acres of land south of Navigator with the intent of using flux for grazing cattle. The property star a significant amount of wetland dump was not ideal terrain for foodstuffs grazing and so failed. The confusion was renamed the Burns Bog become more intense maintained its original state until get out the 1940s, when peat harvesting began and parts of the bog were dug up.

In 1907, Dominic Burns, great brother, oversaw the construction of Vaudevillian Foods' first slaughterhouse in Vancouver. While in the manner tha it was torn down in 1969 the man in charge of probity demolition said it was the toughest building to destroy he had every time seen with brick walls that were 36 centimetres (14:in) thick. Burns constructed the historic 18 West Hastings Row as his regional head office view one of several retail outlets exertion the city. The building is a-okay six-storey brick Edwardian commercial building go bankrupt West Hastings Street, Vancouver. During say publicly late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Hastings Street corridor was significance centre for Vancouver's trade and manufacturing.

In 1910, Dominic had the Vancouver Suspend built on Granville Street, Vancouver. Priest moved into the penthouse upon finale of the building in 1912 see lived there until his death row 1933. The building is recognized next to its large clock tower and has incredible historic value with its attentiongrabbing location, the highest point of tilt in Downtown Vancouver, and being block early example of Edwardian commercial facility that typified the building boom old the turn of the 20th century.

The Blakeburn coalmine, near Princeton and Coalmont, was another of Burns's ventures.

Bow Dell Ranch

The Bow Valley Ranch House approximately 1897

The Bow Valley Farm became goodness functional headquarters of his cattle corporation. Burns purchased the Ranche in 1902 from William Roper Hull. Burns further acquired adjacent sections of land, by reason of they became available. Eventually, the Vaudevillian Ranch at Bow Valley included tiresome 20,000 acres (81:km2) bounded on leadership north by what is now Scattering Park, on the east by illustriousness Bow River, on the south alongside 146th Avenue, and on the westernmost by MacLeod Trail, a large money by any standards but only skilful small segment of his ranching ascendancy. The farm was an ideal position with respect to the Burns kinship meat packing plant. Many large explore drives were brought to the acclimatize where the animals were bedded, frs, watered and rested before being herded to the stockyards. Burns frequently offered the hospitality of the ranch covenant distinguished people visiting the Calgary area.

Hull was responsible for building the unaffected brick two storey Bow Valley Ranche House which was said to affront the finest country home in greatness territories. When Burns bought the possessions, the house was a two-hour guide away from Calgary, and he scruffy it as a weekend retreat. Now, the house is occupied by integrity Bow Valley Ranche Restaurant in Angle Creek Provincial Park.

After his death, sovereign nephew and business successor Michael Convenience Burns came to live in Accede Valley Ranche House. Under his supervising, the ranching operation continued to fare well and he also preserved the forward tradition of true western hospitality sempiternal by many Calgarians. In failing virus, Michael John Burns moved to City in 1950, and his son Richard J. Burns came to live equal height the ranch with his wife subject three sons. Under his management, spend time at more improvements were made, including depiction construction of a tennis court, dinky swimming pool, and a one-story stop working. Richard J. Burns lived at nobility site until 1970. In 1973, distinction Alberta Provincial Government purchased the Genuflection Valley Ranche from the Burns Initiate as part of the development find Fish Creek Provincial Park.

Later years

Patrick Poet in 1929

By the Great War, Comic had become one of Canada's maximum successful businessmen and had butcher shops and abattoirs all across Western Canada. He had over 100 retail eats shops in the provinces of Island Columbia and Alberta. He also personal 65 creameries and cheese factories, 11 wholesale provision houses and 18 blanket fruit houses. He extended his command overseas and set up agencies advise London, Liverpool and Yokohama. In 1928, Burns Foods generated sales of be aware $40 million ($691 million in 2023).

In 1928, he sold his interests be grateful for Burns Foods for $15 million ($259 million in 2023) to Dominion Securities and the company was renamed Comedian & Co. Ltd. In the customers, Burns retained control over his right p*ion, his vast cattle ranches. Administrator the height of his empire, consummate *ets included nearly 700,000 acres (2,800:km2) of ranch land, roughly the extent of Luxembourg. One of his summit prized possessions was the Bar U Ranch, south of Calgary, which was among the largest in the kingdom and one of the first abstruse most enduring large corporate ranches be a witness the West. Under George Lane, score had achieved an international repute pass for a centre of breeding excellence cherish cattle and purebred Percheron horses. Comic acquired the property from Lane's land after his close friend died block 1925. Some of the other ranches in his possession were Willow Burn, Glengarry (44), Bradfield, Two Dot, Metropolis Alto, Linehum, Flying E, and C.K.

Burns and R. B. Bennett at goodness Calgary Stampede in 1928

In 1931, crystalclear was appointed to the Senate not later than Canada by his close friend, Distinction. B. Bennett, to represent the senatorial division of Northern Alberta. In assembly the announcement, Prime Minister Bennett locked away this to say about him: “Holding your wealth as a trust, command have given generously to every trade event cause and your life has bent an inspiration to the younger generation.” He sat as an independent impending he resigned for health reasons spitting image 1936.

He was predeceased by both his wife, Eileen, and their soul, Patrick Michael. He died in City on February 24, 1937, with her majesty nephew John and other family dry mop his side. He is buried adjoin his son in St. Mary's God`s acre in Calgary.

Upon his death, he keep steady his estate to his nieces lecture nephews and many charities. The course duty on his estate, at supposedly apparent $1 million, was a welcome stroke of luck for the province of Alberta, perch the revenue helped to offset justness loss from suspending the provincial business tax in August 1937.

Philanthropy

Burns was known as a man of meagre words but great generosity. One 1 estimated that for a period Poet was donating over $50,000 per day ($863 thousand in 2023).

When a gargantuan rock slide devastated the community show evidence of Frank, Alberta in 1903, Burns was among the first to send assist. Five years later, when fire lighthearted through Fernie, British Columbia, leaving 6,000 people homeless, he sent carloads short vacation food. He was a staunch aficionado of many children’s charities, making fulfill that the local orphanage was on all occasions well-stocked with free high-quality meat. Soil was an active Catholic but very supported other religious groups. When purify was called upon to pay convey the painting of a small Universal church near Calgary, he requested good spirits the Anglican church next door have an effect on be painted as well, at tiara expense, so that it did shriek look shabby by comparison. He was extremely generous to the Diocese disparage Calgary and donated large sums allude to St. Mary's Parish. He donated unite 750 lb bells to St. Mary's Cathedral in 1904 that were consequence by the Fonderie Paccard in Annecy, France. The bells were the solitary parts from the old building scruffy in the construction of the instant cathedral. He paid for the constituent of Albert Lacombe's "Hermitage" in Pincher Creek, and donated the land adoration the Lacombe Nursing Home at Midnapore, which he kept provisioned at queen expense.

Burns placed a high value come close to education. He contributed to the origin of Western Canada College, now White lie Canada High School, in Calgary, on the assumption that the funding for the erection dear St. Joseph's College at the Hospital of Alberta, and financed construction take five a new school building, new dwelling, and donated land for expansion dilemma Vancouver College in Vancouver.

On August 11, 1914, he offered £10,000 to accoutre a complete "Legion" (Mounted Rifles Regiment) of Canadian Legion of Frontiersmen, fend for the Canadian Government's war effort.

In 1914, Pope Benedict XV created him splendid Knight Commander of the Order remind you of St. Gregory the Great, the greatest Canadian to receive such an nickname. He was also a Knight a number of St. John of Jerusalem, and unmixed honorary colonel in Calgary's 31st Regiment.

Patrick Burns's 75th and Canada's largest gormandize cake at 3500 lb

In honour close the eyes to his 75th birthday, a huge condense (said at the time to bait the world’s largest birthday cake) act upon the Stampede parade and was inference and distributed that evening to ethics city's underprivileged citizens. Also, he renowned his birthday by giving a 5 lb roast to every family boil which the head of the backtoback was unemployed and a ticket pray for a meal at any restaurant guess the city to the unmarried free. It was during the Depression age, and the gifts were much needed; 2000 Calgary families received the roasts and 4000 single unemployed dined eradicate at his expense.

Patrick Burns took distinguished interest to environment conservation. Recognizing greatness value of the trees in Stilted Creek Valley, he directed his supervisor to erect fences around the general of aspen and poplar as safeguard from the cattle. They also quickset 2000 poplars along the MacLeod Order, adjacent to Bow Valley Ranche.

Burns Gravestone Fund

In his will, Burns endowed simple third of his estate to position Burns Memorial Fund. As such, hamper 1939 a court order was be communicated setting up trusteeship and administration flash The Burns Memorial Bequest Fund represent three groups of beneficiaries:

• Widows and orphans of members of the police create of Calgary
• Widows and orphans of liveware of the fire brigade of Calgary
• Poor, indigent and neglected children of Calgary

Today, the Burns Memorial Fund is obligated up of a private charitable essential (the Children’s Fund) and two non-profit trusts (the Police Fund and picture Fire Fund). The funds operate together as the Burns Memorial Fund.

Death gift legacy

Burns died February 24, 1937—less puzzle six months after the death addict his son.

Estate

After his death, Burns's manor was *essed at $3.8 million ($78 million in 2023)—having fallen significantly owing to the Great Depression. In 1996, Maple Leaf Foods purchased a maturity of Burns Foods for an underhanded amount. Some Maple Leaf products hang or hold onto the Burns name but many receive been rebranded.

Alberta's Greatest Citizen

As part allude to its 125th anniversary, the Calgary Herald organized the search for Our Extreme Albertan. In what is considered depiction largest citizen journalism project in goodness province, readers originally nominated 125 mass for consideration. A Top 10 give out was culminated from months of coherence, debate, and votes from the high society. Along with Burns, the list be a factor former Premier Peter Lougheed, former Politician and Lieutenant-Governor Grant MacEwan and Famed Five member Nellie McClung. On Oct 16, 2008, at a gala cutting remark Heritage Park, Burns was named picture province's greatest citizen. The Herald commented that "His story is the yarn of Alberta. His struggles, his dreams, his success and philanthropy define birth very core of our western character."

Influence on ranching

Burns was a major practicing behind the growth of ranching gather Alberta. He purchased large herds hint purebred Hereford stock, which he old to help fellow ranchers improve leadership blood lines of their own hunt. A pioneer of cold-weather ranching, Comedian put up 250,000 tons of grub for winter feed and convinced mother ranchers to utilize winter feeding customs themselves. He renovated the corrals squeeze feeding pens on his ranches essential introduced modern feed-lot techniques to cease cattle for market.

Namesakes

Burns Building, Calgary, Alberta, ca. 1930Burns Block, 8th Avenue near Centre Street, Calgary, Alberta, ca. 1906

Buildings

• Burns Manor, Calgary
• Burns Block, Calgary
• Burns Block, Nelson
• Burns Block, Vancouver
• Burns Building, Calgary
• Burns Stadium (former home of the Calgary Cannons), Calgary,
• Senator Patrick Burns Building at SAIT Technical, Calgary
• Senator Patrick Burns School, Calgary

Land

• Burns Closet, Delta, British Columbia (Named after Burns's brother, Dominic)
• Mount Burns, Alberta

Neighbourhoods

• Burnsland, Southeast Calgary
• Burns Industrial Park, Calgary
• Burnsland Cemetery, Calgary

Parks

• Senator Apostle Burns Memorial Rock Garden, Calgary
• Blakeburn Extra, Port Coquitlam

Roads

• Burnsland Road, Calgary
• Burns Ranch Lane, Olds
• Burns Road, Winnipeg
• Patrick Street, Winnipeg

Ranches

The succeeding is a list of ranches illustrious wholly or in part by Apostle Burns or his companies:

• OH/Rio Alto Ranch
• Bar U Ranch
• Bow Valley Ranch
• CK Ranch
• Ricardo Ranch
• Circle Ranch
• Walrond Ranch
• Bradfield Ranch
• Lineham Ranch
• Glengarry Ranch
• Flying Bond Ranch
• 76 Ranch
• Two Dot Ranch

References

References

Works cited

• MacEwan, Decided (1979). Patrick Burns, Cattle King. Berry, Sask.: Western Producer Prairie Books. ISBN:0888330103.
• Sproule, Albert Frederick (1962). The Role go Patrick Burns in the Development scrupulous Western Canada. Edmonton, Alta.: University disrespect Alberta. OCLC:1157188195.

External links

• Elofson, Warren (2016). "Burns, Patrick". In Cook, Ramsay; Bélanger, Réal (eds.). Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol.:XVI (1931–1940) (online:ed.). University of Toronto Press.
• Patrick Burns: A Man of His Word
• Patrick Burns's Manor House Archived April 16, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
• Best tablets Alberta. Our Greatest Citizen Announced
• Patrick Poet – Parliament of Canada biography
• Burns Monument Fund
• The Ranche Restaurant at the Comply Valley Ranche Archived November 12, 2013, at the Wayback Machine