Patrick Burns (July 6, 1856 – February 24, 1937)
was a
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
rancher,
meat packer,
businessperson
A businessperson, businessman, or businesswoman is an individual who has founded, owns, or holds shares in (including as an angel investor) a private-sector company. A businessperson undertakes activities (commercial or industrial) for the ...
,
senator
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
, and philanthropist. A
self-made man of wealth, he built one of the world's largest integrated meat-packing empires, P. Burns & Co., becoming one of the wealthiest Canadians of his time. He is honoured as one of the
Big Four Big Four or Big 4 may refer to:
Groups of companies
* Big Four accounting firms: Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG, PwC
* Big Four (airlines) in the U.S. in the 20th century: American, Eastern, TWA, United
* Big Four (banking), several groupings ...
western cattle kings who started the
Calgary Stampede in Alberta in 1912.
He made his fortune in the
meat industry, but ranching was his true passion. Burns' of
cattle ranches covered so vast an area of
Southern Alberta
Southern Alberta is a region located in the Canadian province of Alberta. In 2004, the region's population was approximately 272,017.[Cochrane Cochrane may refer to:
Places Australia
*Cochrane railway station, Sydney, a railway station on the closed Ropes Creek railway line
Canada
* Cochrane, Alberta
* Cochrane Lake, Alberta
* Cochrane District, Ontario
** Cochrane, Ontario, a town wit ...](_blank)
to the
US border without ever leaving his land.
In 1931, he was appointed to the Canadian Senate as a representative for Alberta. On October 16, 2008, the ''
Calgary Herald
The ''Calgary Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Publication began in 1883 as ''The Calgary Herald, Mining and Ranche Advocate, and General Advertiser''. It is owned by the Postmedia Network.
History
''The ...
'' named Burns as Alberta's Greatest Citizen.
Early life
Patrick O'Byrne was born in
Oshawa
Oshawa ( , also ; 2021 population 175,383; CMA 415,311) is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It lies in Southern Ontario, approximately east of Downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the eastern anchor of the G ...
, Ontario, on July 6, 1856, the fourth of eleven children of Michael and Bridget O'Byrne. His parents had emigrated from
County Mayo
County Mayo (; ga, Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning "Plain of the Taxus baccata, yew trees") is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Conn ...
, Ireland in 1848 due to the
Great Famine, and as part of the naturalization process, the family name was shortened to Byrne and then later to Burns.
The family moved from the Oshawa area northward in the spring of 1864 to the small community of
Kirkfield, Ontario Kirkfield is a village located in the city of Kawartha Lakes, in the Canadian province of Ontario. The unincorporated village was named in 1864 after the initial name, ''Novar'', was rejected by the government. A list of 8 possible choices was then ...
, where Burns spent a majority of his childhood.
Patrick had very little formal schooling but learned a great deal about hard work and thriftiness from his parents.
He spent his last summer in Kirkfield chopping wood for a neighbour. He had intended to save enough money to travel out west, but when it came time for him to collect his pay, he discovered that his employer did not have enough cash to cover the $100 he was owed for his labour and so was instead given two oxen as payment. They had a resale value of $70, but he saw an alternative. He made $140 by slaughtering the animals and reselling their meat and byproducts. That experience was one that he would remember when he was as an entrepreneur.
With his brothers John and Dominic in 1878 he head out west at the age of 22. They started out by steamer, but when they reached
Rat Portage
Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents. Species of rats are found throughout the order Rodentia, but stereotypical rats are found in the genus ''Rattus''. Other rat genera include ''Neotoma'' (pack rats), ''Bandicota'' (bandicoot ...
, he feared that if he paid for transportation the rest of the way, he might lack funds on his arrival. Undaunted, he bought some bread and cheese, and with his gun for protection, walked the rest of the way to Winnipeg. He and John, impressed by reports of good lands to the west, decided to take advantage of the
Dominion Homestead Act of 1872. The brothers set out on foot to locate their homesteads and walked until they found land to their liking just east of
Minnedosa, Manitoba
Minnedosa is a town in the southwestern part of the Canadian province of Manitoba situated 50 kilometres (32 mi) north of Brandon, Manitoba on the Little Saskatchewan River. The town's name means "flowing water" in the Dakota language. The p ...
.
Burns continued to homestead in
Manitoba
Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...
until after the
Louis Riel rebellion but gradually became involved in buying cattle and selling meat. He began his meat packing career with a cow bought on credit and sold for $4.
He began freighting goods from
Winnipeg
Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...
and driving his neighbours' cattle to the Winnipeg market. By 1885, he was buying and selling his own cattle.
As a contractor from railway construction, that Burns transitioned from being a small-time broker to a successful entrepreneur. In 1887,
William Mackenzie and his partners
Donald Mann
Sir Donald Daniel Mann (March 23, 1853 – November 10, 1934), who was also referred to as "Dan" or "D.D." before his knighthood, was a Canadian railway contractor and entrepreneur.
Biography
Born at Acton, Canada West, Mann studied as a Metho ...
, James Ross, and
Herbert Holt secured a railway construction contract to drive a line from
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
through
Maine
Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...
to the
Eastern Seaboard. Mackenzie had grown up in Kirkfield and remembered Burns from their briefly-shared school days and time spent working in their fields. Aware of Burns' experience in the livestock business, Mackenzie gave him the opportunity to provision the labourers who were to construct the line.
Burns learned to establish a mobile slaughtering facility, which could move easily as the railhead was extended. The success of the contract in Maine led to whole succession of other contracts with Mackenzie and Mann.
Alberta
![Program for 1912 Calgary Stampede](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/82/Program_for_1912_Calgary_Stampede.jpg)
Burns moved to
Calgary
Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...
in 1890 and established his first substantial slaughterhouse.
In 1898, he built a packing house in Calgary followed by others in
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
,
Edmonton
Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...
,
Prince Albert
Prince Albert most commonly refers to:
*Albert, Prince Consort (1819–1861), consort of Queen Victoria
*Albert II, Prince of Monaco (born 1958), present head of state of Monaco
Prince Albert may also refer to:
Royalty
* Albert I of Belgium ...
, and
Regina. He then turned to ranching on a large scale and acquired large tracts of land. His company, P. Burns & Co. (later Burns Foods) became western Canada's largest meatpacking company.
At the grand opening of his second abattoir in 1899 (the first had burned down), the ''Calgary Herald'' described the event as "the passing of yet another milestone on the road to Calgary's full measure of prosperity."
In 1901 he married Eileen Ellis of
Penticton in a small ceremony in London, England. Back in Calgary, Burns was building a house for him and his new bride.
Burns Manor, on the corner of 4th Street and 13th Avenue SW, designed by Pat's friend, the famed architect
Francis Rattenbury, was a grand, 18-room sandstone mansion, visited by the likes of Prime Ministers and Royalty. Construction took two years, and the couple meanwhile lived at the Alberta Hotel, on
Stephen Avenue
Stephen Avenue is a major pedestrian mall in downtown Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The mall is the portion of 8 Avenue SW between 4 Street SW and 1 Street SE. It is open to vehicles only from 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.
The street is known for some of Ca ...
. The Burnses had one son, Patrick Michael Burns, born in Calgary in 1906.
![Burns Plant](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/Burns_Plant.jpg)
In 1912, he was one of the
Big Four Big Four or Big 4 may refer to:
Groups of companies
* Big Four accounting firms: Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG, PwC
* Big Four (airlines) in the U.S. in the 20th century: American, Eastern, TWA, United
* Big Four (banking), several groupings ...
, who started the
Calgary Stampede. With
A.E. Cross,
A.J. McLean
Alexander James McLean (born January 9, 1978) is an American singer, dancer, actor and a member of the pop vocal group Backstreet Boys.
Early life
McLean was born on January 9, 1978, in West Palm Beach, Florida, to Denise (née Fernandez, n ...
, and
George Lane, they arranged $100,000 worth of financing and billed the event as "The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth."
Burns then personally owned six ranches with 38,000 head of cattle, 1,500 horses and 20,000 sheep. His company, Burns Foods, had abattoirs in Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Prince Albert, and Regina with an overall daily capacity of 1,070 cattle, 6,000 pigs, and 3,000 sheep. Burns' facilities were of the utmost sanitation and technically advanced to a level previously unseen in Western Canada. Facilities were eventually opened in Winnipeg, Seattle, Australia, and Great Britain.
Burns was able to revolutionize the slaughterhouse industry by emphasizing efficiency in the use of byproducts. Traditionally, much of the animals had been lost to waste, but with his advanced abattoirs, Burns could expand the list of recoverable products, which included leather, fats for soap, bone for bone meal and manufactured articles, fertilizers, glycerine, hair for brushes, and even an array of pharmaceuticals. Burns joked that the only product not recovered were the pigs' squeals, which could have been sold to politicians.
Burns played a crucial role in World War I by supplying meat to troops overseas. For example, he shipped over 2,000 tons of pork shipped to troops in France during the first half of 1917. After the war,
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
was looking to secure a meat supply from a North American company. With no American distributors able to meet the call, Burns stepped in to help the devastated nation.
British Columbia
![Vancouver clock tower](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8d/Vancouver_clock_tower.jpg)
From the early 1900s to 1914, he was the principal meat supplier for the workers during the construction of the
Grand Trunk Pacific Railway. One of the
Foley, Welch and Stewart,
sternwheelers
A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine that drives paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses were w ...
, the ''
Skeena'' was used for the express purpose of delivering Burns' beef to the railway construction camps in
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
.
As part of his western expansion, Burns purchased several thousand acres of land south of Vancouver with the intent of using it for grazing cattle. The property included a significant amount of wetland that was not ideal terrain for cattle grazing and so failed. The land was renamed the
Burns Bog
Burns Bog is an ombrotrophic peat bog located in Delta, British Columbia, Canada. It is the largest raised peat bog and the largest undeveloped urban land mass on the West Coast of the Americas. Burns Bog was originally before development. Curren ...
and maintained its original state until around the 1940s, when peat harvesting began and parts of the bog were dug up.
In 1907, Dominic Burns, a brother, oversaw the construction of Burns Foods' first slaughterhouse in
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
.
When it was torn down in 1969 the man in charge of the demolition said it was the toughest building to destroy he had ever seen with brick walls that were thick.
Burns constructed the historic 18 West Hastings Street as his regional head office and one of several retail outlets in the city. The building is a six-storey brick Edwardian commercial building on West Hastings Street, Vancouver. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Hastings Street corridor was the centre for Vancouver's trade and manufacturing.
In 1910, Dominic had the Vancouver Block built on
Granville Street, Vancouver. Dominic moved into the penthouse upon completion of the building in 1912 and lived there until his death in 1933. The building is recognized by its large clock tower and has incredible historic value with its prominent location, the highest point of land in Downtown Vancouver, and being an early example of Edwardian commercial buildings that typified the building boom at the turn of the 20th century.
The Blakeburn coalmine, near Princeton and
Coalmont, was another of Burns' ventures.
Bow Valley Ranch
![Bow Valley](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/98/Bow_Valley.jpg)
The Bow Valley Farm became the functional headquarters of his cattle empire.
Burns purchased the Ranche in 1902 from
William Roper Hull
William Charles James Roper Hull (December 20, 1856 – April 4, 1925) was a Canadian rancher, meat packer, businessman, and philanthropist. He played a prominent role in western Canada's early economic development by integrating a systematic appr ...
.
Burns also acquired adjacent sections of land, as they became available. Eventually, the Burns Ranch at Bow Valley included some bounded on the north by what is now Stampede Park, on the east by the
Bow River, on the south by 146th Avenue, and on the west by
MacLeod Trail, a large property by any standards but only a small segment of his ranching empire.
The farm was an ideal location with respect to the Burns family meat packing plant. Many large cattle drives were brought to the site where the animals were bedded, fed, watered and rested before being herded to the stockyards. Burns frequently offered the hospitality of the ranch to distinguished people visiting the Calgary area.
Hull was responsible for building the natural brick two storey Bow Valley Ranche House which was said to be the finest country home in the territories. When Burns bought the property, the house was a two-hour ride away from Calgary, and he used it as a weekend retreat. Today, the house is occupied by th
Bow Valley Ranche Restaurantin
Fish Creek Provincial Park
Fish Creek Park is an urban provincial park that preserves the valley of Fish Creek in the southern part of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It is bordered on three sides by the city, and on the west by the territory of the Tsuu T’ina Nation (Sarcee) ...
.
After his death, his nephew and business successor Michael John Burns came to live in Bow Valley Ranche House.
Under his supervision, the ranching operation continued to prosper and he also preserved the established tradition of true western hospitality remembered by many Calgarians. In failing health, Michael John Burns moved to Calgary in 1950, and his son Richard J. Burns came to live at the ranch with his wife and three sons. Under his management, many more improvements were made, including the construction of a tennis court, a swimming pool, and a one-story addition. Richard J. Burns lived at the site until 1970.
In 1973, the Alberta Provincial Government purchased the Bow Valley Ranche from the Burns Foundation as part of the development of Fish Creek Provincial Park.
Later years
![Senator Burns](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/Senator_Burns.jpg)
By the
Great War, Burns had become one of Canada's most successful businessmen and had butcher shops and
abattoirs all across Western Canada. He had over 100 retail meat shops in the provinces of British Columbia and Alberta. He also established 65
creameries
A creamery is a place where milk and cream are processed and where butter and cheese is produced. Cream is separated from whole milk; pasteurization is done to the skimmed milk and cream separately. Whole milk for sale has had some cream ret ...
and cheese factories, 11 wholesale provision houses and 18 wholesale fruit houses. He extended his empire overseas and set up agencies in London,
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
and
Yokohama
is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...
.
In 1928, Burns Foods generated sales of about $40 million ($ million in ).
In 1928, he sold his interests in Burns Foods for $15 million ($ million in ) to
Dominion Securities and the company was renamed Burns & Co. Ltd.
In the sale, Burns retained control over his true passion, his vast cattle ranches. At the height of his empire, his assets included nearly of ranch land, roughly the size of
Luxembourg
Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
.
One of his most prized possessions was the
Bar U Ranch
The Bar U Ranch National Historic Site, located near Longview, Alberta, is a preserved ranch that for 70 years was one of the leading ranching operations in Canada. At its peak, the ranch extended over with 30,000 cattle and 1000 Percheron ho ...
, south of Calgary, which was among the largest in the country and one of the first and most enduring large corporate ranches of the West. Under George Lane, it had achieved an international repute as a centre of breeding excellence for cattle and purebred
Percheron
The Percheron is a breed of draft horse that originated in the Huisne river valley in western France, part of the former Perche province from which the breed takes its name. Usually gray or black in color, Percherons are well muscled, and k ...
horses. Burns acquired the property from Lane's estate after his close friend died in 1925. Some of the other ranches in his possession were Willow Creek, Glengarry (44), Bradfield, Two Dot, Rio Alto, Linehum, Flying E, and C.K.
![Pat Burns and R](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Pat_Burns_and_R.B._Bennett.jpg)
In 1931, he was appointed to the
Senate of Canada
The Senate of Canada (french: region=CA, Sénat du Canada) is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the House of Commons, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada.
The Senate is modelled after the B ...
by his close friend,
R. B. Bennett
Richard Bedford Bennett, 1st Viscount Bennett, (July 3, 1870 – June 26, 1947), was a Canadian lawyer, businessman, philanthropist, and politician who served as the 11th prime minister of Canada from 1930 to 1935.
Bennett was born in ...
, to represent the senatorial division of Northern Alberta. In making the announcement, Prime Minister Bennett had this to say about him: “Holding your wealth as a trust, you have given generously to every good cause and your life has been an inspiration to the younger generation.” He sat as an independent until he resigned for health reasons in 1936.
He was predeceased by both his wife, Eileen, and their son, Patrick Michael. He died in Calgary on February 24, 1937 with his nephew John and other family at his side. He is buried alongside his son in St. Mary's Cemetery in Calgary.
Upon his death, he left his estate to his nieces and nephews and many charities. The tax on his estate was enough to offset the provincial deficit and balance the budget. As a result, the
Social Credit Party chose to eliminate the
Provincial Sales Tax permanently.
Philanthropy
Burns was known as a man of few words but great generosity. One employee estimated that for a period Burns was donating over $50,000 per year ($ thousand in ).
When a huge
rock slide
A rockslide is a type of landslide caused by rock failure in which part of the bedding plane of failure passes through compacted rock and material collapses ''en masse'' and not in individual blocks. Note that a rockslide is similar to an avalanc ...
devastated the community of
Frank, Alberta in 1903, Burns was among the first to send aid.
Five years later, when fire swept through
Fernie, British Columbia, leaving 6,000 people homeless, he sent carloads of food.
He was a staunch supporter of many children’s charities, making sure that the local orphanage was always well-stocked with free high-quality meat. He was an active Catholic but also supported other religious groups. When he was called upon to pay for the painting of a small Catholic church near Calgary, he requested for the Anglican church next door to be painted as well, at his expense, so that it did not look shabby by comparison. He was extremely generous to the
Diocese of Calgary and donated large sums to St. Mary's Parish.
[Juliette Champagne (September 5, 2005)]
Burns made his mark in business, charity
''Western Catholic Reporter''. Accessed April 15, 2008. He donated three 750 lb bells to
St. Mary's Cathedral in 1904 that were cast by the
Fonderie Paccard
Fonderie Paccard is a French foundry in Annecy. Founded in 1796, the foundry has cast more than 120,000 bells located throughout the world. The foundry has been continuously operated by seven generations of the Paccard family. The largest bell ca ...
in
Anncey,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
. The bells were the only parts from the old building used in the construction of the existing cathedral. He paid for the construction of
Albert Lacombe's "
Hermitage" in
Pincher Creek
Pincher Creek is a town in southern Alberta, Canada. It is located immediately east of the Canadian Rockies, west of Lethbridge and south of Calgary.
History
For centuries before European settlers reached this area and inhabited it, Indigen ...
, and donated the land for the Lacombe Nursing Home at
Midnapore
Medinipur or Midnapore (Pron: med̪iːniːpur) is a city known for its history in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the West Medinipur district. It is situated on the banks of the Kangsabati River (variously known as '' ...
, which he kept provisioned at his expense.
Burns placed a high value on education. He contributed to the creation of Western Canada College, now
Western Canada High School, in Calgary, provided the funding for the erection of
St. Joseph's College at the
University of Alberta
The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Rutherfor ...
, and financed construction on a new school building, new residence, and donated land for expansion at
Vancouver College in Vancouver.
On August 11, 1914, he offered £10,000 to equip a complete "Legion" (Mounted Rifles Regiment) of Canadian Legion of Frontiersmen, for the Canadian Government's war effort.
In 1914,
Pope Benedict XV
Pope Benedict XV (Latin: ''Benedictus XV''; it, Benedetto XV), born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, name=, group= (; 21 November 185422 January 1922), was head of the Catholic Church from 1914 until his death in January 1922. His ...
created him a Knight Commander of the
Order of St. Gregory the Great
The Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great ( la, Ordo Sancti Gregorii Magni; it, Ordine di San Gregorio Magno) was established on 1 September 1831, by Pope Gregory XVI, seven months after his election as Pope.
The order is one of ...
, the first Canadian to receive such an honour. He was also a Knight of
St. John of Jerusalem
The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headqu ...
, and an honorary colonel in Calgary's 31st Regiment.
![Burns Cake](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/Burns_Cake.jpg)
In honour of his 75th birthday, a huge cake (said at the time to be the world’s largest birthday cake) led the Stampede parade and was cut and distributed that evening to the city's underprivileged citizens.
Also, he celebrated his birthday by giving a 5 lb roast to every family in which the head of the house was unemployed and a ticket for a meal at any restaurant in the city to the unmarried unemployed. It was during the Depression days, and the gifts were much needed; 2000 Calgary families received the roasts and 4000 single unemployed dined out at his expense.
Patrick Burns took special interest to environment conservation.
Recognizing the value of the trees in Fish Creek Valley, he directed his foreman to erect fences around the groves of aspen and poplar as protection from the cattle. They also planted 2000 poplars along the MacLeod Trail, adjacent to Bow Valley Ranche.
Burns Memorial Fund
In his will, Burns endowed a third of his estate to the Burns Memorial Fund. As such, in 1939 a court order was issued setting up trusteeship and administration of The Burns Memorial Bequest Fund for three groups of beneficiaries:
* Widows and orphans of members of the
police force of Calgary
* Widows and orphans of members of the
fire brigade of Calgary
* Poor, indigent and neglected children of Calgary
Today, the Burns Memorial Fund is made up of a private charitable foundation (the Children’s Fund) and two non-profit trusts (the Police Fund and the Fire Fund). The funds operate collectively as the Burns Memorial Fund.
Death and legacy
Burns died February 24, 1937—less than six months after the death of his son.
Estate
After his death, Burns' estate was assessed at $3.8 million ($ million in )—having fallen significantly due to the Great Depression.
In 1996,
Maple Leaf Foods purchased a majority of Burns Foods for an undisclosed amount. Some Maple Leaf products retain the Burns name but many have been rebranded.
Alberta's Greatest Citizen
As part of its 125th anniversary, the ''
Calgary Herald
The ''Calgary Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Publication began in 1883 as ''The Calgary Herald, Mining and Ranche Advocate, and General Advertiser''. It is owned by the Postmedia Network.
History
''The ...
'' organized the search for Our Greatest Albertan. In what is considered the largest
citizen journalism project in the province, readers originally nominated 125 people for consideration. A Top 10 list was culminated from months of thought, debate, and votes from the public. Along with Burns, the list included former Premier
Peter Lougheed, former Mayor and Lieutenant-Governor
Grant MacEwan and
Famous Five member
Nellie McClung. On October 16, 2008, at a gala at Heritage Park, Burns was named the province's greatest citizen. The ''Herald'' commented that "His story is the story of Alberta. His struggles, his dreams, his success and philanthropy define the very core of our western character."
Influence on ranching
Burns was a major force behind the growth of ranching in Alberta. He purchased large herds of purebred Hereford stock, which he used to help fellow ranchers improve the blood lines of their own cattle. A pioneer of cold-weather ranching, Burns put up 250,000 tons of hay for winter feed and convinced other ranchers to utilize winter feeding methods themselves. He renovated the corrals and feeding pens on his ranches and introduced modern feed-lot techniques to finish cattle for market.
Namesakes
Buildings
*
Burns Manor, Calgary
* Burns Block, Calgary
* Burns Block,
Nelson
* Burns Block, Vancouver
*
Burns Building
The Burns Building is a historic six-story building located in downtown Calgary, Alberta. It sits at 237-8th Ave. S.E. on the end of Stephen Avenue overlooking Olympic Plaza and City Hall.
History
The building was commissioned by meat baron Pat B ...
, Calgary
*
Burns Stadium (former home of the
Calgary Cannons
The Calgary Cannons were a minor league baseball team located in Calgary, Alberta, for 18 seasons, from 1985 until 2002. They were a member of the AAA Pacific Coast League (PCL) and played at Foothills Stadium. The Cannons displaced the Calgary ...
), Calgary,
* Senator Patrick Burns Building at
SAIT Polytechnic
The Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) is a polytechnic institute in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. SAIT offers more than 110 career programs in technology, trades and business. Established in 1916, it is Calgary's second oldest post-sec ...
, Calgary
* Senator Patrick Burns School, Calgary
Land
*
Burns Bog
Burns Bog is an ombrotrophic peat bog located in Delta, British Columbia, Canada. It is the largest raised peat bog and the largest undeveloped urban land mass on the West Coast of the Americas. Burns Bog was originally before development. Curren ...
,
Delta, British Columbia (Named after Burns' brother, Dominic)
* Mount Burns, Alberta
Neighbourhoods
*
Burnsland, Southeast Calgary
* Burns Industrial Park, Calgary
* Burnsland Cemetery, Calgary
Parks
* Senator Patrick Burns Memorial Rock Garden, Calgary
* Blakeburn Park, Port Coquitlam
Roads
* Burnsland Road, Calgary
* Burns Ranch Road,
Olds
* Burns Road,
Winnipeg
Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...
* Patrick Street, Winnipeg
Ranches
The following is a list of ranches owned wholly or in part by Patrick Burns or his companies:
*
OH/Rio Alto Ranch
*
Bar U Ranch
The Bar U Ranch National Historic Site, located near Longview, Alberta, is a preserved ranch that for 70 years was one of the leading ranching operations in Canada. At its peak, the ranch extended over with 30,000 cattle and 1000 Percheron ho ...
* Bow Valley Ranch
* CK Ranch
* Ricardo Ranch
* Circle Ranch
* Walrond Ranch
* Bradfield Ranch
* Lineham Ranch
* Glengarry Ranch
* Flying E Ranch
* 76 Ranch
* Two Dot Ranch
References
References
Works Cited
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External links
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Patrick Burns: A Man of His Word*
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ttp://www.burnsfund.com/ Burns Memorial FundThe Ranche Restaurant at the Bow Valley Ranche
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burns, Patrick
1856 births
1937 deaths
19th-century Canadian businesspeople
20th-century Canadian businesspeople
Businesspeople in agriculture
Businesspeople from Ontario
Businesspeople from Alberta
Canadian people in rail transport
Canadian people of Irish descent
Canadian philanthropists
Canadian ranchers
Canadian Roman Catholics
Canadian senators from Alberta
Independent Canadian senators
Knights of Grace of the Order of St John
Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada)
People from Kawartha Lakes
People from Oshawa
Settlers of Canada
Canadian cattlemen
Cowboys