Frank H. Sobey, OC (May 24 1902 – December 15, 1985) was a Canadian businessman and art collector who was the primary builder of the

Sobeys Sobeys Inc. is the second largest supermarket chain in Canada, with over 1,500 stores operating across Canada under a variety of banners. Headquartered in Stellarton, Nova Scotia, it operates stores in all ten provinces and accumulated sales o ...

chain of supermarkets.

Life and career

Born in the farming community of Lyons Brook, Nova Scotia, to John William (J.W.) Sobey and Eliza Sobey, he was three years old when his family moved to the nearby then-booming coal-mining town of

Stellarton Stellarton is a town located in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. It is adjacent and to the south of the larger town of New Glasgow. In pioneer times the area was called Coal Mines Station, and from 1833 until 1889, it was known as Albion Min ...

. In 1907, his father purchased a

meat Meat is animal flesh that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted, farmed, and scavenged animals for meat since prehistoric times. The establishment of settlements in the Neolithic Revolution allowed the domestication of animals such as chic ...

retailing business and became a butcher, peddling meat products door-to-door from a horse-drawn wagon. In 1912, his father built a 2-storey store in Stellarton's central business district, selling mostly meat and vegetables. In an era where education opportunities were limited in small Maritime towns, Sobey left school after Grade 8. However, he had an

entrepreneurial mindset Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values th ...

, and at age sixteen enrolled in a business college. In 1924 he persuaded his father to expand the store to carry a full range of groceries and the family began expanding, opening stores in the nearby industrial towns of New Glasgow, Trenton and Westville, and the university town of

Antigonish , settlement_type = Town , image_skyline = File:St Ninian's Cathedral Antigonish Spring.jpg , image_caption = St. Ninian's Cathedral , image_flag = Flag of Antigonish.pn ...

. In the early 1940s, the family wished to purchase a building on Archimedes Street in New Glasgow for a supermarket. The property was owned by a company named

Empire Company Ltd. Empire Company Limited is a Canadian conglomerate engaged mostly in food retail and corporate investments. The company is headquartered in Stellarton, Nova Scotia. Empire Company also owns the Sobeys supermarket chain. The company was founde ...

and to acquire the building, the family purchased the company itself. Empire was transformed into the family's holding company and was privatized in 1981. Through Empire Company Ltd., Sobey purchased a local drive-in theatre (renaming it Empire Theatre) and later built a chain of

movie theater A movie theater (American English), cinema (British English), or cinema hall ( Indian English), also known as a movie house, picture house, the movies, the pictures, picture theater, the silver screen, the big screen, or simply theater is a ...

s, in addition to substantial commercial and residential real estate holdings. In 1971, while still active in the business, Sobey handed over formal control of the company's operations to his three sons, Bill, David and Donald. In the late 1950s, Premier

Robert Stanfield Robert Lorne Stanfield (April 11, 1914 – December 16, 2003) was a Canadian politician who served as the 17th premier of Nova Scotia from 1956 to 1967 and the leader of the Official Opposition and leader of the federal Progressive Conservative ...

appointed Sobey as president of Industrial Estates Limited with a salary of $1/year; Sobey is credited with guiding IEL to make investments in the 1960s that significantly expanded and diversified Nova Scotia's economy. Sobey was also one of the investors behind Peter Munk (chairman of

Barrick Gold Barrick Gold Corporation is a mining company that produces gold and copper with 16 operating sites in 13 countries. It is headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It has mining operations in Argentina, Canada, Chile, Côte d'Ivoire, Democrati ...

) in founding Clairtone. Sobey received an honorary Doctor of Laws from Saint Mary's University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and the university named its Faculty of Commerce in his honour. In 1985, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada and was inducted into 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 ...

. Sobey married Irene MacDonald on November 24, 1924. They had four children: Bill, David, Donald and Dianne. He died in Halifax in 1985 at the age of 83.

Sobey Foundation

In 1982, Sobey endowed the Sobey Foundation to provide funding for important initiatives with positive and long-lasting impacts on health, education and communities. The Frank H. Sobey Awards in Business Studies annually provide $10,000 to full-time business students from any Atlantic Canadian university. Saint Mary's University named its commerce program the Sobey School of Business.

Sobey Art Foundation

Sobey and his wife Irene acquired a significant art collection that included works by

Cornelius Krieghoff Cornelius David Krieghoff (June 19, 1815 – March 5, 1872) was a Dutch-born Canadian-American painter of the 19th century. Krieghoff is most famous for his paintings of Canadian landscapes and Canadian life outdoors, which were as sought ...

, Tom Thomson and notable Group of Seven members

A. Y. Jackson Alexander Young Jackson LL. D. (October 3, 1882April 5, 1974) was a Canadian painter and a founding member of the Group of Seven. Jackson made a significant contribution to the development of art in Canada, and was instrumental in bringing toget ...

and

Arthur Lismer Arthur Lismer, LL. D. (27 June 1885 – 23 March 1969) was an English-Canadian painter, member of the Group of Seven and educator. He is known primarily as a landscape painter and for his paintings of ships in dazzle camouflage. Early life ...

. The collection can be seen today at Crombie House, Sobey's former residence in Abercrombie, Nova Scotia. The Sobey Art Foundation was established in 1985 with a mandate to maintain and augment the collection. The foundation's

Sobey Art Award The Sobey Art Award is Canada's largest prize for young Canadian artists. It is named after Canadian businessperson and art collector Frank H. Sobey, who established The Sobey Art Foundation. It is an annual prize given to an artist 40 and under wh ...

is Canada's largest prize for young Canadian artists. It is awarded every two years to an artist 39 years of age or younger who has exhibited work in a public or commercial art gallery in Canada during the previous 18 months. The winner receives up to $70,000 and the 3 runners-up $1,000.

References

* Bruce, Harry. ''Frank Sobey: The Man and the Empire'' (1985 -

Macmillan of Canada Macmillan of Canada was a Canadian publishing house. The company was founded in 1905 as the Canadian arm of the English publisher Macmillan. At that time it was known as the "Macmillan Company of Canada Ltd." In the course of its existence the na ...

) * Pitts, Gordon. ''The Codfathers: Lessons from the Atlantic Business Elite''. (2005 – Key Porter Books * Nina Munk. My Father's Brilliant Mistake''. 2008, May 12. Canadian Business https://web.archive.org/web/20130225103938/http://www.ninamunk.com/documents/ClairtoneLesson.htm {{DEFAULTSORT:Sobey, Frank H. 1902 births 1985 deaths Businesspeople from Nova Scotia Canadian grocers Canadian art collectors Canadian philanthropists Sobey, Frank Officers of the Order of Canada People from Pictou County