William Earle McLaughlin (16 September 1915 – 30 October 1991) was a Canadian banker who was the Chairman of the

Royal Bank of Canada Royal Bank of Canada (RBC; french: Banque royale du Canada) is a Canadian multinational financial services company and the largest bank in Canada by market capitalization. The bank serves over 17 million clients and has more than 89,000& ...

from 1960 to 1979. 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, to parents Frank McLaughlin and Frankie L. Houlden. Earle McLaughlin graduated with a gold medal in commerce from

Queen's University Queen's or Queens University may refer to: *Queen's University at Kingston, Ontario, Canada *Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK **Queen's University of Belfast (UK Parliament constituency) (1918–1950) **Queen's University of Belfast ...

and joined the

in 1936. In 1960, at an age considered very young at the time, 45-year-old McLaughlin was appointed the bank's general manager and then shortly thereafter, president. He would retire as chairman in 1979. In addition to the Royal Bank, McLaughlin served on the

board of directors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

of a number of corporations including

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

, Algoma Steel, Metropolitan Life and

General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...

(a board which he was appointed to after the retirement of

Sam McLaughlin Colonel Robert Samuel McLaughlin, (September 8, 1871 – January 6, 1972) was a Canadian businessman and philanthropist. He started the McLaughlin Motor Car Company in 1907, one of the first major automobile manufacturers in Canada, which evo ...

, his first cousin once removed). He was a member of the board of governors of the Royal Victoria Hospital and the Council of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. Following his retirement from banking, he served as chancellor of

Concordia University Concordia University ( French: ''Université Concordia'') is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College and Sir George Williams University, Concordia is one of the t ...

(1982–1986) and was a trustee of Queen's University who awarded him their alumni John B. Stirling Montreal Medal in 1967. Earle McLaughlin was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1981. McLaughlin died in Montreal in 1991 and was buried at

Mount Royal Cemetery Opened in 1852, Mount Royal Cemetery is a terraced cemetery on the north slope of Mount Royal in the borough of Outremont in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Temple Emanu-El Cemetery, a Reform Judaism burial ground, is within the Mount Royal grounds. Th ...

. His grandson, Kevin McLaughlin, now continues the family automotive tradition with AutoShare.

Works

McLaughlin, W. Earle. ''Collected Speeches 1961–1979''. Royal Bank of Canada, 1980.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McLaughlin, Earle 1915 births 1991 deaths Canadian bank presidents Canadian people of Ulster-Scottish descent Officers of the Order of Canada People from Oshawa Queen's University at Kingston alumni Place of death missing Chancellors of Concordia University