George Wallace Ferguson McCain (April 9, 1930 – May 13, 2011) was a Canadian businessman and co-founder of

McCain Foods McCain may refer to: * McCain (surname), a surname (includes a list of persons and characters) Companies * McCain Foods Limited, a producer of frozen foods * McCain, Inc., privately held American manufacturing company headquartered in Vista, ...

. With an estimated net worth of $US 4.15 billion (as of 2018), McCain was ranked by ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

'' as the 13th wealthiest Canadian and 512th in the world.

Early life

McCain was born in

Florenceville-Bristol Florenceville-Bristol is a town in the northwest part of Carleton County, New Brunswick, Canada. The town is located on the banks of the Saint John River. As of 2016, the population was 1,604. History Florenceville was originally known as ...

, New Brunswick, as the son of Andrew Davis McCain, a descendant of a settler from Castlefinn,

Donegal Donegal may refer to: County Donegal, Ireland * County Donegal, a county in the Republic of Ireland, part of the province of Ulster * Donegal (town), a town in County Donegal in Ulster, Ireland * Donegal Bay, an inlet in the northwest of Ireland b ...

, Ireland who became a well-respected seed potato farmer. Since 1900, the family sold seed potatoes throughout

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) 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. It is the only province with both English and ...

and exported to

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

and Latin America.

Education

McCain graduated 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 1951 with 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. In 2007, he gave a record $873,000 to his alma mater. On February 21, 2011, he donated $5,000,000 to the

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 ...

, Saint John campus for the Wallace McCain Institute, a program for business students and entrepreneurs.

Career

McCain co-founded

in 1956 with his brother

Harrison McCain Harrison McCain (3 November 1927 – 18 March 2004) was a Canadian businessman and co-founder, along with his three brothers, of international frozen foods giant McCain Foods. Early life McCain was born in Florenceville-Bristol, New Brunsw ...

, building it into one of the world's largest frozen food companies. In the 1990s a prolonged legal dispute between Harrison and Wallace over succession to the company leadership ended with the departure of Wallace's sons

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...

and Scott McCain from McCain Foods. Father and son moved to

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 ...

. Wallace and Harrison were estranged after the fallout from their McCain Foods dispute. In 2004 there was rapprochement between the brothers when Wallace visited Harrison who was sick in the hospital. Wallace has also been a confidante to McCain Foods' non-family executives who now run the firm. After being ousted from McCain Foods, McCain teamed up with the

Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan The Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board (french: Régime de retraite des enseignantes et des enseignants de l'Ontario) is an independent organization responsible for administering defined-benefit pensions for school teachers of the Canadian pr ...

to buy

in 1995. He previously served as the chairman of the board for the company, and his son Michael is currently the CEO.

Death

McCain died on May 13, 2011 of pancreatic cancer. He was 81. He was residing in

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

at the time of his death. A $5 million gift from Wallace and Margaret McCain was used to establish The Wallace McCain Centre for pancreatic cancer at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre. The centre will further The Princess Margaret's groundbreaking research into the causes and treatments of pancreatic cancer, as well as help establish a rapid diagnosis program.

Personal life

In 1955, he married

Margaret McCain Margaret Norrie McCain ( Norrie; born October 1, 1934) is a Canadian philanthropist who was the first woman to serve as the lieutenant governor of New Brunswick. She is known for her work in the promotion of early childhood education. As a me ...

, the first female

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

of New Brunswick.

Accolades

In 1995, 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 ...

for being "one of Atlantic Canada's most notable entrepreneurs" and was promoted to Companion in 2008.Official Order of Canada Web site
In 1993, he was inducted into

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 ...

and the New Brunswick Business Hall of Fame in 1997. In 2003, he was awarded the

Order of New Brunswick The Order of New Brunswick (french: Ordre du Nouveau Brunswick) is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of New Brunswick. Instituted in 2000 by Lieutenant Governor Marilyn Trenholme Counsell, on the advice of the Cabinet under Prem ...

. He has received honorary degrees from

, the

University of King's College The University of King's College, established in 1789, is in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.Roper, Henry. "Aspects of the History of a Loyalist College: King's College, Windsor, and Nova Scotian Higher Education in the Nineteenth Century." Anglic ...

, the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

and

St. Francis Xavier University St. Francis Xavier University is a public undergraduate liberal arts university located in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is a member of the Maple League, a group of primarily undergraduate universities in Eastern Canada. History St. Franc ...

References

External links

Wallance McCain Institute for Business Leadership

Golden Education World Book
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCain, Wallace 1930 births 2011 deaths Businesspeople from New Brunswick Businesspeople from Toronto Companions of the Order of Canada Members of the Order of New Brunswick Deaths from pancreatic cancer People from Carleton County, New Brunswick Mount Allison University alumni Canadian billionaires Canadian company founders Canadian people of Ulster-Scottish descent