D'Alton Corry Coleman

D'Alton Corry Coleman (July 9, 1879October 17, 1956) was a Canadian railway executive and businessman. He began working for the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) in 1899, and was promoted through its ranks until serving as president from 1942 to 1947. He oversaw expansion which added of branch lines in the Canadian Prairies, and guided Western Canada railways through the Great Depression. He developed the CPR to support logistics during World War II, including manufacture of munitions, expanded shipbuilding and established one of the country's first private blood donation clinics. Canadian Pacific Air Lines was established under his leadership, and he became chairman of the Canadian Pacific Steamship Company, Canadian Pacific Hotels and other subsidiaries. He maintained good relations between the CPR and its unionized workers and believed in promoting from within the company.

Coleman developed a love for reading history at a young age, became city editor of ''The Belleville Intelligencer'' by age 18, and kept a large personal library on Canadiana. He was the father of sports journalist Jim Coleman, served as the vice-president of the Montreal Canadiens, and owned a horse racing stable which produced the winner of the 1943 Canadian Derby. Coleman had a long association of community service with the Navy League of Canada, and served in executive positions on multiple financial institutions including the Bank of Montreal and the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. He served on the board of governors for the University of Manitoba and the University of Bishop's College; and received honorary law degrees from Manitoba and Bishop's. He was made a Knight of Grace in The Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem in 1943, and appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George in 1946.

Early life and education

D'Alton Corry Coleman was born on July 9, 1879, in Carleton Place, Ontario. He was the oldest son in a family including six boys and one girl, to parents James Coleman and Mary Jane Doherty, who were first generation Irish Canadians. At age four, his family relocated to Braeside, where he attended elementary school. As a youth, he enjoyed reading history books, ''Blackwood's Magazine'', and had a subscription to ''The Times of London'' by age 13.

Coleman attended Arnprior District High School by walking five miles each day, and played football and baseball at school. During summers he worked 11 hours per day at a local lumber yard, earning C$12 per month as a tallyman checking freight on flatcars. He left school at age 15 to work full-time at the lumber yard with a raise to $30 per month.

Coleman saved his money from work then attended Belleville Business College to learn shorthand. After completing business college, he worked one year as a secretary for George Albertus Cox and Edward Rogers Wood at Central Canada Loan and Savings Company in Toronto.

Coleman turned to journalism and became a reporter for ''The Belleville Intelligencer''. Six months later, he was promoted to be city editor at age 18. He later worked for the '' Port Huron Times'' as an editor.

Coleman quit the newspaper business after two years and was accepted for an advertised position in Buffalo, New York. He spent his life savings on a rail ticket to get there, and turned down the job when he found out it was for selling pills. After a night of roaming the streets Buffalo to keep warm, he visited a restaurant where the female owner listened to his story, fed him a large breakfast and gave him money for a rail ticket to get to his relatives in Sarnia.

Canadian Pacific Railway career

Early years in Western Canada

Coleman began working for the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) on November 4, 1899, as an assistant engineer's clerk in Fort William. From 1899 to 1907, he moved around as a clerk and accountant based in Winnipeg, then Cranbrook and North Bay. He became the superintendent of the Kootenay Division based in Nelson in 1907, then superintendent of railcar service in Vancouver then Winnipeg in 1908. He was promoted to general superintendent in Winnipeg in 1912, then held the same position in Calgary in 1913, and return to Winnipeg in 1915 as the assistant general manager.

In October 1918, Coleman was appointed the vice-president of Western Lines. Then CPR president Lord Shaughnessy predicted that Coleman would one day become president of the company. Coleman was in charge of all CPR trackage from the Great Lakes to the Pacific Ocean and oversaw expansion which added of branch lines in the Canadian Prairies. He guided the Western Lines through the Great Depression making adjustments to services due to declining revenues.

CPR executive in Montreal

Coleman became vice-president of the CPR in October 1934 and relocated to Montreal. He gradually assumed more responsibilities as the health of president Edward Wentworth Beatty worsened. As the senior vice-president during the beginning of World War II, he oversaw expansion of CPR operations and upgrade of equipment to meet increased demand by war time logistics.

Coleman also served as chairman of the Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company of Canada, and as a director of the West Kootenay Power and Light, both as part of the CPR supply chain. He was involved in the management of multiple railroad partners, including as director of Northern Alberta Railways, Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad and Toronto Terminals Railway; and served as vice-president of the Toronto, Hamilton and Buffalo Railway and the Calgary and Edmonton Railway. He was president of the ground transport division of CPR, known as the Canadian Pacific Express Company, and was chairman and director of Associated Screen News of Canada which was operated by the CPR.

In May 1942, Coleman became the fifth president of CPR when he was appointed at age 63. A year later he was named chairman of the board of governors on May 5, 1943. He was the first CPR president who was not listed in ''Burke's Peerage'', and was described by ''Maclean's'' as "the Great Commoner".

Coleman also became chairman of the Canadian Pacific Steamship Company, and president of the Canadian Australasian Line which was formerly the Canadian-Australian Royal Mail Steam Ship Company. He oversaw the establishment of Canadian Pacific Air Lines in 1942, and became its chairman after the CPR absorbed Canadian Airways and nine other companies.Canadian Pacific: Our History
, cpr.ca. Retrieved April 12, 2020.

During World War II, Coleman oversaw manufacturing of munitions at the CPR Angus Shops in Montreal and CPR Ogden Shops in Calgary, and expanded shipbuilding to assist the Allies of World War II and replacement of steamships lost to enemy attacks. He also used the Angus Shops to establish one of the country's first private blood donation clinics in co-operation with the Canadian Red Cross