The following list is adapted from the book, The Canadian Establishment, by Peter C. Newman. These are families which are worth from $20 million to $50 million, that is, those below the top “45 families” Bains claims are the enemy of the Canadian “people.” These “impoverished” monopoly bourgeois include 18 who sit on the boards of Canada’s five largest banks, plus 2 on smaller banks. It also includes families or individuals who control or sit as Chairman on 11 of the 300 largest industrials, 5 large merchandizers including Simpsons and Canadian Tire, plus the largest (Cadillac Fairview) and the fifth largest (Campeau) real estate developers. These “middle” bourgeoisie have numerous positions, as well, on the boards of Canadian largest industrials, trust companies, insurance companies, etc. (Rankings are taken from The Financial Post, Top 500, June 1979)
They also head large investment houses such as Wood Gundy, and Pitfield, Mackay, Ross & Co., which are responsible for channelling the money of the bourgeoisie into new profitable activities.
It is clear from even a cursory glance at this list that these people, responsible for the exploitation of thousands of Canadian workers, as well as workers under their thumb in other countries, could not have the remotest interest in the cause of the international proletariat, in making socialist revolution. To make the feeble distinction of Bains, that these “poor” middle bourgeois are a possible ally of the proletariat, must be conscious deception, for it is impossible that any sincere revolutionary could possibly be blind to the links between the “middle” bourgeoisie and the so-called “rich families.” Bains’ allies are not interested in eliminating the “45 families”; to the contrary, they seek to join them. Conrad and Montegu Black, of the listed Black family, are an excellent example.
It is quite possible that since the publication of this list, they have moved up to a higher level, having achieved control over Argus Corporation,with assets of about $4 billion. Argus controls Massey-Ferguson, which has more tractors in Africa than other company (many in the PLA’s “progressive” states, no doubt), Hollinger Mines, Dominion Stores, and Crown Trust. Massey Ferguson is ranked 7th by sales in the industrials. Dominion is the second largest merchandizer, while Hollinger is the 12th largest mining monopoly. As well, Conrad Black sits on the board of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. Conrad Black has recently come out suggesting that Canada join the United States if Quebec separates.
But granted all of the above, Conrad Black has much in common with Bains and the PLA. Black believes that recent years, the aftermath of the 60’s, have seen “the re-emphasis of the importance of the proprietor in Canadian big business.” This is just the recipe called for by the revisionists against the monopolies: Long Live Competive Capitalism! Down with the trusts! The fact that Black controls such a massive fortune should not worry “CPC(ML),” for Black, too, will admit that Marx “did predict the crisis of continued growth that capitalism now faces” (The Gazette, 11 June 1979, p. 15). And carrying this further, Black shows he has approximately the same evaluation of Marx as Bains and the PLA: “Black described (Marx) as an outstanding sociologist,” but he “was wrong on many things,” such as the neccessity for proletarian revolution and the dictatorship of the proletariat.
Exactly the same as Bains and the Party of Labour of Albania. We do not know whether the others on this list have studied Marx, but whether they have or not, we are sure they will get along well with their “Marxist” promoters.
John Aird, Toronto (lawyer, ex-senator; investments chairman, Algoma Central Railway, ranked 132 by assets, 220 by sales. Chairman, Reed Stenhouse, controls international insurance network, with subsidiaries in Australia, Bermuda, Sweden, Belgium, France, New Guinea, New Zealand, Republic of Ireland, Rhodesia, South Africa, Hong Kong, Philippines, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, UK, US, Fiji, Greece, Malaysia and Thailand: Director of the Bank of Nova Scotia. Chairman of the Canada-United States Permanent Joint Board of Defense (Canadian section))
Beauchemin family, Montreal (J-Jacques Beauchemin, director of Banque Canadienne Nationale; heads Sullivan Mining Group); Bentall family, Vancouver (real estate development); Joseph Berman, Toronto (real estate development); Billes family, Toronto (Canadian Tire Corporation, fifth largest merchandizer by assets. 11th by sales); Drummond Birks, Montreal (Henry Birks and Sons Company, ranked 50th by sales as merchandizer, 36th by assets); George Black, Toronto (partner in Ravelston, the Argus holding company); Black brothers: head Argus Corporation, Conrad is a director of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Massey Ferguson is ranked 7th by sales); Walter Blackburn. London, Ontario (owns the city’s major newspaper, radio and TV stations); Leonard Blatt, Toronto (developer); Block brothers, Vancouver (real estate); Brillant family, Rimouski (investments); Bernard Brynelsen. Vancouver (brought Brenda Mines and others into production); Burton family. Toronto (has joint control of Simpsons Limited with Wood Gundy, ran Simpson’s Ltd., ranked 13th by sales and 7th by assets for merchandizers. one family member. Edgar, is director of Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, one, G. Allan, is a director of the Royal Bank)
Robert Campeau, Ottawa (real estate, Campeau Corporation is Canada’s fifth largest developer): Carmichael family, Toronto (Argus links, equipment leasing): Lou Chesler. Toronto and Bahamas (one-time stock sales-man who promoted mines, Florida real estate, movies, and Grand Bahama gambling); Clarke family, Montreal (shipping); R.L. Cliff, Vancouver (investments); Edwin Cogan, Toronto (Greater York Group, developer): Cohen family, Winnipeg (Canadian distributors of Sony products); George Cohon, Toronto (McDonald’s hamburger franchise); Fred Connell, Toronto (one of Canada’soriginal mining entrepreneurs, controls Conwest Exploration): H. Roy Crab-tree, Montreal (runs Wabasso Limited; chairman of Wabasso Ltd, ranked 218 by assets and 249 by sales: Director of the Bank of Montreal): Crothers family, Toronto (equipment dealers, hotels); Cummings family, Montreal (sold out its real estate holdings to Trizec Corporation)
John Daniels, Toronto (real estate development): Mortimer Davis estate, Montreal (founded by former head of Imperial Tobacco): Dawes family, Montreal (former brewers; sold out to Canadian Breweries in the early 1950s; also in construction; active in Olympics and other sports ventures); Graham Dawson, Vancouver (real estate and construction; director of the Bank of Montreal): Del Zotto family, Toronto (real estate and construction); Reuben Dennis, Toronto (real estate); Senator Paul Desruisseaux, Montreal and Sherbrooke (Melchers Distilleries and investments); Eph Diamond, Toronto (real estate development); Gordon Farrell, Vancouver (telephone and cement); John Fraser, Toronto (administers the Samuel McLaughlin Foundation) Gardiner family. Oakville and Toronto (investments; W.D. Gardiner, (deputy chairman of the Royal Bank of Canada); George Gardiner, Toronto (oil and other investments, including the Colonel Sanders franchise for most of Ontario and Quebec); Gerstein family, Toronto (jewellery stores; controls People’s Jewellers, no doubt the name fooled Bains. Bertrand Gerstein is a director of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce); Ben Ginter, Vancouver and Prince George (brewing, construction); Goldlist family. Toronto (developers); Duncan and Walter Gordon. Toronto (Clarkson, Gordon) (Walter Gordon founded the Committee for an Independent Canada, an organization Bains has sought an alliance with for many years. Gordon was Finance Minister under Lester Pearson and has long been an advocate of “struggle” against US domination); F. Ronald Graham, Montreal (investments; also involved with George Gardiner in fried chicken); Green family. Toronto (Greenwin Construction; developers); Alex Grossman, Toronto (Belmont Construction; developer); Charles Gundy, Toronto (chairman of Wood Gundy; has large private stock holdings; largest and most powerful investment house)
Hugh Hallward, Montreal (Lord Atholstan’s grandson; heads Argo Construction; director of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce); Sam Hashman, Calgary (real estate and construction); Bill Hatch, Toronto (investments; director, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce); Clifford Hatch, Windsor (president, Hiram Walker-Gooderham and Worts Ltd., ranked 43 by sales and 24 by assets, director of the Toronto-Dominion Bank, and Bell Canada); W. Bernard Herman, Toronto (parking lots); Sydney Hermant, Toronto (controls Imperial Optical Company: director of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce).
Ivanier family, Montreal (Ivaco Industries: nuts and bolts, metal fabricators) Keevil family, Vancouver (formerly Toronto; mining and oil through Teck Corporation); Michael Koemer, Toronto (manages his family trusts and controls medium-sized steel companies); Murray Koffler, Toronto (Shoppers Drug Mart and is rapidly expanding into new ventures); Kruger family, Montreal (own large newsprint and other paper operations in Quebec and South America as well as an aluminum extrusion plant in Holland; controls Kruger Paper, ranked 131 by sales, and 100 by assets.)
LaBine family. Toronto (Eldorado discoverer: sold out to Bovis Corporation); Laidlaw family, Toronto (fortune based on lumber business); Latner family, Toronto (Greenwin Construction: developers); Lawson family, Oakville and London, Ontario (printing and packaging); Irwin David Leopold, Montreal (Mondev Corporation; developers of Westmount Square and other major projects); J. Louis Levesque, Montreal (investments and horses); Levy brothers, Toronto (widespread holdings built on auto parts); Lundrigan family. Corner Brook (construction).
Charles E. MacCulloch, Halifax (real estate development; director of the Bank of Nova Scotia); Maclaren family, Ottawa (lumber, pulp and paper; controls Maclaren Power and Paper Co., ranked 219 by sales and 152 by assets. They are the largest shareholders in the Bank of Nova Scotia. Donald Maclaren is a director of that bank); H.R. MacMillan holdings, Vancouver (original lumber fortune now distributed to heirs); George Mara, Toronto (investments: chairman of Jannock Ltd., ranked 92 by sales and 104 by assets); Mashaal family, Montreal (builders); McCall family, Montreal (steel suppliers); McCutcheon holdings, Toronto (residue of former Argus partner’s fortune); S. Bruce McLaughlin, Mississauga (his company owns big chunks of Mississauga, on Toronto’s western border, and the Caledon Hills to the north; associated in ventures with the Edper Bronfmans); McMartin brothers, Bermuda (Hollinger heirs); Merkur brothers, Toronto (Meridian development group); Gerhard Moog, Toronto (developer); Bartlett Morgan, Montreal (sold his department store to Hudson’s Bay Company; now operates Morgan Trust and owns the mountain on which the James Bond picture On His Majesty’s Secret Service was filmed): Graham Morrow, Toronto (financial and insurance companies: one holding. Imperial Life, was sold to Paul Desmarais) Odette family, Toronto and Windsor (builders).
Phrixos Basil Papachristidis, Montreal (has a fleet large enough so that in 1974 when the Greek government suggested all of the country’s shipowners donate one dollar per ton toward the war effort against Turkey over Cyprus, it cost him one million dollars); Senator Norman Paterson, Thunder Bay (shipping and grain handling); Jim Pattison, Vancouver (glittery conglomerate); Pigott family, Hamilton (builders); Pitfield family, Montreal and Toronto (investments; Pitfield, Mackay, Ross and Co., one of the largest investment houses); Poole family, Edmonton (builders; John Poole is a director of Toronto-Dominion Bank); John Pnisac. Toronto (important funnel for foreign funds into Canadian real estate through his Deltan Corporation).
Irving Rocke Ransen, Montreal (Mondev Corporation): Reitman family. Montreal (women’s clothing stores; controls Reitman’s. 37th largest merchandizer); Dr. K.A. Roberts, Toronto (real estate and finance): Guy Rogers, Toronto (family sold Elias Rogers Company to Texaco; operates St. Marys Cement and Canada Building Materials); Rogers family, Vancouver (sugar refining and packaging); Ted Rogers, Toronto (broadcasting); Philip Roth, Toronto (Meridian; developer); Rudberg family. Montreal (builders); Russel family. Montreal and Toronto (steel suppliers).
Schwartz family, Halifax (spices); Seaman family, Calgary (oil drilling: controls Bow Valley Industries, ranked 122 by sales and 73 by assets); Searle family, Winnipeg (folded their grain company into Federal Industries, a conglomerate; Stewart Searle runs Federal Industries, ranked 197 by sales and 128 by assets); Seitz family, Toronto (introduced the typewriter to Canada: Ernest wrote “The World is Waiting for the Sunrise”; his brother Joseph switched to Royal after Olivetti bought Underwood): Jerry Shefsky. Toronto (Greater York Group; developer): Sifton family. Toronto (newspapers and television); Sobey family. Stellarton, N.S. (supermarkets and theatres: controls Sobey’s food merchandizers, ranked 28th by sales; D.R. Sobey is a director of the Toronto-Dominion Bank, and William is a director of the Bank of Montreal): Southern family, Calgary (Atco Industries: runs Atco Industries, ranked 117th by sales, and 129 by assets: Ronald Southern is a director of the Mercantile Bank).
Tabachnick family, Windsor and Toronto (sold holdings in Cambridge Leaseholds to Oxford Development Group); Peter Thomson, Montreal (controls Warnock Hersey conglomerate); Torno family. Toronto (wine and arts).
A. Murray Vaughan, Montreal (chairman of British American Bank Note; administers Hosmer and Pillow estates); Weldon family, London. Ontario (investments); Arthur White, Toronto (Dickenson Mines, KamKotia Mines); Bud Willmot, Toronto (Molson Companies: investments: chairman of Molson Companies, ranked 40th by sales and 71 by assets: director of the Bank of Nova Scotia); Charles Wills. Vancouver (lawyer; heir to Reifel fortune); Walter Zwig and Jacob Hendeles, Toronto (co-developers of office buildings).