Peter Frederick Bronfman,
OC (October 2, 1929 – December 1, 1996) 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 ...
businessman and entrepreneur, born in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
, and member of the Toronto branch of Canada's wealthy
Bronfman family
The Bronfman family is a Canadian family, known for its extensive business holdings. It owes its initial fame to Samuel Bronfman (1889–1971), the most influential Canadian Jew of the mid-20th century, who made a fortune in the alcoholic distille ...
. He attended
Selwyn House School
Selwyn House School (SHS) is an English-language independent K-11 boys' school located in Westmount, Quebec. The school was founded in 1908 by Englishman Captain Algernon Lucas and was named in honour of Selwyn College at the University of Cam ...
in Montreal and the elite
Lawrenceville School
The Lawrenceville School is a coeducational preparatory school for boarding and day students located in the Lawrenceville section of Lawrence Township, in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. Lawrenceville is a member of the Eight Schoo ...
in
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
, one of the oldest
prep school
Preparatory school or prep school may refer to: Schools
*Preparatory school (United Kingdom), an independent school preparing children aged 8–13 for entry into fee-charging independent schools, usually public schools
*College-preparatory school, ...
s in America, and received his
bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...
from
Yale University
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
in 1952.
Career
Peter Frederick Bronfman was born in Montreal in 1929, a son of Allan Bronfman and nephew of Samuel Bronfman, the founder of
the Seagram Company
The Seagram Company Ltd. (which traded as Seagram's) was a Canadian multinational conglomerate formerly headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. Originally a distiller of Canadian whisky based in Waterloo, Ontario, it was once (in the 1990s) the lar ...
. He attended the Lawrenceville School in Lawrenceville, N.J., and received a bachelor's degree from Yale University in 1952. Bronfman was the co-founder (with his brother,
Edward Bronfman
Edward Maurice Bronfman, (November 1, 1927 – April 4, 2005) was a Canadian businessman, philanthropist, and member of the Bronfman family.
Born in Montreal, Quebec, the son of Allan Bronfman and the nephew of Samuel Bronfman, founder of Sea ...
) of
Edper Investments Edper Investments Ltd. was the primary holding company and investment vehicle for brothers Edward Bronfman and Peter Bronfman between 1959 and 1995. At its peak in the 1980s and early 1990s, Edper was one of the largest corporate conglomerates in C ...
, their private holding company that at its peak was estimated to control $100 billion in assets, including some of the largest corporations in Canada. He and his brother also owned the
Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...
from 1971 to 1978, winning four
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...
s with the team 1973, 1976, 1977, 1978. Bronfman also owned
Labatt Brewing Company
Labatt Brewing Company Limited (french: La Brasserie Labatt Limitée) is a Belgian-owned brewery headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1847, Labatt is the largest brewer in Canada.
In 1995, it was purchased by Belgian brewer Int ...
which owned the
Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...
when they won their World Series titles in 1992 and 1993.
Personal life and legacy
On November 14, 1996, Bronfman was made an Officer of the
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit.
To coincide with the ...
. It was presented posthumously in 1997.
Bronfman died of cancer on December 1, 1996.
[Peter F. Bronfman, Industrialist, Dies at 67]
''New York Times'', December 3, 1996. He was survived by his third wife, Lynda Hamilton Bronfman; and three children, Linda Bronfman, Brenda Bronfman, and Bruce Bronfman.
York University
York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...
's
Schulich School of Business
The Schulich School of Business is the business school of York University located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The institution provides undergraduate and graduate degree and diploma programs in business administration, finance, accounting, busine ...
in Toronto, Canada has its business library named after hi
The
G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education at
Toronto Metropolitan University
Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU or Toronto Met) is a public university, public research university located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The university's core campus is situated within the Garden District, Toronto, Garden District, although i ...
houses the Peter Bronfman Learning Centre, which is located on the seventh floor of the
Heaslip House.
References
Further reading
*
*
*
*
* Peter C. Newman, "Peter Bronfman: The gentle, lonely tycoon", ''Maclean's'' magazine (December 16, 1996)
* Susan Gittins, ''Behind Closed Doors: The Rise and Fall of Canada's Edper Bronfman and Reichman Empires'' (1995)
* Patricia Best and Ann Shortell, ''The Brass Ring: Power, Influence and the Brascan Empire'' (1988)
External links
The Bronfman Family on the Canadian Encyclopedia
1928 births
1996 deaths
20th-century Canadian businesspeople
Peter Bronfman
Peter Frederick Bronfman, OC (October 2, 1929 – December 1, 1996) was a Canadian businessman and entrepreneur, born in Montreal, and member of the Toronto branch of Canada's wealthy Bronfman family. He attended Selwyn House School in Montre ...
Jewish Canadian philanthropists
Officers of the Order of Canada
Businesspeople from Montreal
Yale University alumni
Canadian company founders
Canadian people of Russian-Jewish descent
Canadian real estate businesspeople
Labatt Brewing Company
Bishop's College School alumni
Deaths from cancer in Ontario
{{Canada-business-bio-stub