Donald Gordon, (11 December 1901 – 2 May 1969) was a

Scottish-Canadian Scottish Canadians are people of Scottish people, Scottish descent or cultural heritage, heritage living in Canada. As the third-largest ethnic group in Canada and amongst the first Europeans to settle in the country, Scottish people have made a ...

businessman and the former President of the

Canadian National Railways The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I railroad, Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern United States, M ...

from 1950 to 1966. Born in

Oldmeldrum Oldmeldrum (commonly known as Meldrum) is a village and parish in the Formartine area of Aberdeenshire, not far from Inverurie in North East Scotland. With a population of around 2,187, Oldmeldrum falls within Scotland's top 300 centres of popu ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, Gordon came to Canada at an early age. At 15, he joined the

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in Toronto, becoming assistant chief accountant and assistant manager of the Toronto branch. In 1935, he was appointed Secretary of the newly formed

Bank of Canada The Bank of Canada (BoC; french: Banque du Canada) is a Crown corporation and Canada's central bank. Chartered in 1934 under the ''Bank of Canada Act'', it is responsible for formulating Canada's monetary policy,OECD. OECD Economic Surveys: Ca ...

and later became deputy governor. At the outbreak of war, Gordon was appointed Chairman of the Foreign Exchange Control Board, and then from 1941 to 1947, he was Chairman of the

Wartime Prices and Trade Board The Wartime Prices and Trade Board is a former Canadian government agency, established on September 3, 1939, by the Mackenzie King government, under the authority of the ''War Measures Act'', in the Department of Labour responsible for price cont ...

. He became a national figure in Canada during these years, as the WPTB had control over all wages and prices in Canada, and touched the lives of all Canadians. He was also asked to meet with United States economic experts as the USA came into the war, and the U.S. modelled much of its price policy on the Canadian experience. After the war, Gordon was the Canadian representative on the newly formed International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. From 1950 to 1966, he was Chairman and President of the Canadian National Railways. During his colourful career at this post, he re-organised the company, and brought an ailing and bankrupt company into profit. Gordon was involved in the controversy over naming the

Queen Elizabeth Hotel Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth (french: Fairmont Le Reine Élizabeth) is a historic grand hotel in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. With 950 rooms and 21 floors it is the largest hotel in the province of Quebec, and the second largest Fairmont hotel in ...

, after its founding in

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. Quebec nationalists wanted it called Château Maisonneuve in honour of Montreal's founder, Paul Chomedey de Maisonneuve. Gordon decided it should be named for Queen Elizabeth II, who had unexpectedly come to the throne in 1952 while the hotel was still on the drawing boards. He was also involved in a controversy in 1962 when he said that no French-Canadian was competent enough to be vice-president of the

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN i ...

. This statement was ironic because he himself had left high school in grade 10. The febrile atmosphere of the time seized upon these words to imply that he was anti-French, so he proceeded to justify this statement in a more defendable way in the extensive interviews and television appearances made afterwards. He remained a figure of controversy for Quebec nationalists for whom he represented a certain type of English-speaking businessman. In 1944, he was made a Companion of the Order of Saint Michael and Saint George. And, in 1968, he was made a Companion of the Order of Canada. Queen's University in

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River (south end of the Rideau Canal). The city is midway between Toro ...

has honoured Gordon, naming a university residence Donald Gordon House, and its conference centre Donald Gordon Centre. He is a member of the

Canadian Business Hall of Fame The Canadian Business Hall of Fame celebrates the outstanding achievements of Canada's most distinguished business leaders, past and present. Over 170 Order of the Business Hall of Fame Companions serve as inspiring examples for all young Canadians ...

. He was given honorary degrees by several Canadian Universities, including McGill University. He was also a Knight of Grace of the Order of St John of Jerusalem.

References

External links

Donald Gordon
at

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; french: L'Encyclopédie canadienne) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with the support of Canadian Heritage. Available fo ...

Donald Gordon fonds (R2110)
at

Library and Archives Canada Library and Archives Canada (LAC; french: Bibliothèque et Archives Canada) is the federal institution, tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is th ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, Donald 1901 births 1969 deaths Canadian National Railway executives Canadian Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Companions of the Order of Canada Scottish emigrants to Canada People from Oldmeldrum