Purdy Crawford, (November 7, 1931 – August 12, 2014) 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 ...
lawyer and businessman.
Education
Born in
Five Islands, Nova Scotia
Five Islands is a rural community in Colchester County Nova Scotia with a population of 316 located on the north shore of Minas Basin, home of the highest tides in the world. It is named after five small islands – Moose, Diamond, Long, Egg, and ...
, he received a
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
degree from
Mount Allison University
Mount Allison University (also Mount A or MtA) is a Canadian primarily undergraduate liberal arts university located in Sackville, New Brunswick, founded in 1839.
Like other liberal arts colleges in North America, Mount Allison does not parti ...
in 1952, a
bachelor of laws
Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...
degree from
Dalhousie Law School
, mottoeng = "Law is the source of light"
, endowment =
, staff =
, faculty = 119
, dean = Camille Cameron
, head_label =
, head =
, doctoral =
, students = 500
, city ...
in 1955, and a
master of laws
A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...
from
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States.
Each class ...
in 1956. He was called to the Bar of
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland".
Most of the population are native Eng ...
in 1956 and the Bar of Ontario in 1958. He was created a
Queen's Counsel
In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...
in 1968.
Law career
In 1956, he joined the law firm of
Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt
Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP is a Canadian-based law firm founded in 1862. Osler is considered one of the Seven Sisters (law firms), a historical collection of seven law firms with offices in Toronto, Ontario.
History
The firm was founded in ...
as a student. Specializing in corporate and commercial law, he became an associate lawyer in 1958, partner in 1962, and a senior partner from 1970 to 1985. He articled with
Roland Ritchie
Roland Almon Ritchie, (June 19, 1910 – June 5, 1988) was a Canadian lawyer and puisne justice of the Supreme Court of Canada.
Early life and family
Born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, the son of William Bruce Almon Ritchie and Lillian Stewart, R ...
in Halifax and studied labour law at Harvard with
Archibald Cox
Archibald Cox Jr. (May 17, 1912 – May 29, 2004) was an American lawyer and law professor who served as U.S. Solicitor General under President John F. Kennedy and as a special prosecutor during the Watergate scandal. During his career, he was a p ...
, best known as the Watergate special prosecutor. From 1964 to 1968, he was a special lecturer at the
Osgoode Hall Law School
Osgoode Hall Law School, commonly shortened to Osgoode, is the law school of York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
The law school is home to the Law Commission of Ontario, the Journal of Law and Social Policy, and the ''Osgoode Hall La ...
of
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 ...
and taught at the
University of Toronto Law School
The University of Toronto Faculty of Law (U of T Law, UToronto Law) is the law school of the University of Toronto. The Faculty's admissions process is the most selective of law schools in Canada and is one of the most selective in North Americ ...
from 1969 to 1971. In the early 1960s he worked with the Kimber Committee which recommended a new securities law for Ontario in 1965. He was involved in drafting the legislation to implement the Kimber recommendations. The new Securities Act was enacted in Ontario and subsequently in other provinces, and is the foundation of Canadian securities law.
He re-joined Osler as counsel in 2000.
Business career
In 1985, he became president and chief operating officer of
Imasco
Imasco Limited was a Canadian corporation headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was founded in 1970 as Imperial and Associates, Co.
History
Imasco was the former owner of Imperial Tobacco Canada, Canada Trust, Shoppers Drug Mart , Gens ...
Ltd., becoming CEO in 1986, and chairman, president and CEO in 1987. He retired as CEO in 1995 and as chairman OF Imasco Ltd. in 2000.
He was the chairman of the
Atlantic Institute for Market Studies (AIMS), chancellor of
Mount Allison University
Mount Allison University (also Mount A or MtA) is a Canadian primarily undergraduate liberal arts university located in Sackville, New Brunswick, founded in 1839.
Like other liberal arts colleges in North America, Mount Allison does not parti ...
and chairman of
AT&T Canada
Allstream is a business communications provider based in Mississauga, Ontario that provides IP connectivity, managed IP services, unified communications and voice services to its customers in the United States and Canada.
The company traces its ...
. He was a corporate director for Canadian National Railway and was a member of the board of the
Maple Leaf Foods
Maple Leaf Foods Inc. is a Canadian consumer packaged meats company. Its head office is in Mississauga, Ontario.
History
Maple Leaf Foods is the result of the 1991 merger between Canada Packers and Maple Leaf Mills.
Canada Packers was f ...
as well as governor of the
University of Waterloo
The University of Waterloo (UWaterloo, UW, or Waterloo) is a public research university with a main campus in Waterloo, Ontario
Waterloo is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is one of three cities in the Regional Municipality ...
.
He was chairman of the Ontario Government's
Crawford Panel on a Single
Canadian Securities Regulator. Crawford acted as the lead negotiator for resolution of the Canadian financial institutions' crisis in
asset-backed commercial paper
Asset-backed commercial paper (ABCP) is a form of commercial paper that is collateralized by other financial assets. Institutional investors usually purchase such instruments in order to diversify their assets and generate short-term gains.
Stru ...
(ABCP), which was caused by the collapse in the
subprime
In finance, subprime lending (also referred to as near-prime, subpar, non-prime, and second-chance lending) is the provision of loans to people in the United States who may have difficulty maintaining the repayment schedule. Historically, subpri ...
mortgage market in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
in 2007.
Crawford sat on the boards of several large Canadian companies. He was chair of the Pan-Canadian Investors Committee for Third-Party Structured Asset Backed Commercial Paper; was the former chair of the Five-Year Review Committee appointed to review securities legislation in Ontario and was also the chair of the Securities Industry Committee on Analyst Standards. In 1996, he became an officer of the Order of Canada. He was inducted into the Business Hall of Fame of Nova Scotia in 1997 and became a fellow of the Institute of Corporate Directors in 1999. In 2000, he was inducted into the Canadian Business Hall of Fame and named Ivey Business Leader of the Year. In April 2003 was named one of the five 2002 Public Policy Forum honorees and in October was named the Conference Board of Canada's 2003 honorary associate. In 2007, he received the Yee Hong Golden Achievement Award and was honoured as a Champion of Public Education by The Learning Partnership.
Targeting young non-smokers
In 2000, the '' Globe and Mail '' obtained documents showing that, in spite of tobacco industry denials that it focused on selling its products to young non-smokers, Crawford supported Imperial Tobacco's efforts to target them in its marketing campaigns. "Imperial Tobacco Ltd. has always focused its efforts on new smokers, believing that early impressions tend to stay with them throughout their lives," Crawford privately told executives of Imperial's parent company in 1989. He added that his company "clearly dominates the young adult market today, and stands to prosper as these smokers age, and as it maintains its highly favourable youthful preference."
Death
He died on August 12, 2014 at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto. Services were held at Metropolitan United Church in Toronto, and at Peniel United in Five Islands, in August and October respectively.
Honours
In 1996, he 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 ...
"as the quintessential corporate philanthropist" and "as a caring and sensitive leader". In 2007, he was promoted to companion of the Order of Canada. In 1997 he was inducted into the Nova Scotia Business Hall of Fame and 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 ...
in 2000.
The Purdy Crawford Teaching Centre at Mount Allison University is named in his honour. Dalhousie University's Faculty of Law established the Purdy Crawford Chair in Business Law in his honour. He received an
honorary degree
An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...
from
University of New Brunswick
The University of New Brunswick (UNB) is a public university with two primary campuses in Fredericton and Saint John, New Brunswick. It is the oldest English-language university in Canada, and among the oldest public universities in North Americ ...
in 2010.
In 2008, Purdy Crawford received an honorary doctorate of letters from
Cape Breton University
, "Diligence Will Prevail"
, mottoeng = Perseverance Will Triumph
, established = 1951 as Xavier Junior College 1968 as NSEIT 1974 as College Of Cape Breton 1982 as University College of Cape Breton 2005 as Cape Breton ...
and as part of a Cape Breton University Honorary Degree ceremony in 2010 at Membertou First Nation was honoured with the title of Honorary Chieftain of Membertou by Chief Terrance Paul when he was given the title o
Chief Rising Tide
Also in 2010, Cape Breton University announced the creation of th
Purdy Crawford Chair in Aboriginal Business Studies named in honour o
Shannon School of BusinessAdvisory Board member, Mr. Purdy Crawford. The research chair was developed to promote interest among Canada's Indigenous people in the study of business at the post-secondary level, while undertaking pure and applied research specific to Aboriginal communities.
Bibliography
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See also
*
List of University of Waterloo people
The University of Waterloo, located in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, is a comprehensive public university that was founded in 1957 by Drs. Gerry Hagey and Ira G. Needles. It has grown into an institution of more than 42,000 students, faculty, and ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crawford, Purdy
1931 births
2014 deaths
Businesspeople from Nova Scotia
Businesspeople from Ontario
Canadian chairpersons of corporations
Canadian women chief executives
Canadian King's Counsel
Canadian university and college chancellors
Companions of the Order of Canada
Schulich School of Law alumni
Harvard Law School alumni
Lawyers in Nova Scotia
Members of the United Church of Canada
Mount Allison University alumni
People from Colchester County
University of Toronto faculty
York University faculty