This captivating collection of biographies profiles Canada's most prominent and innovative business people from the early 1600s through the first quarter of the twentieth century. Beginning with an accessible overview of the rise of entrepreneurialism in Canada, it features portraits of 61 individuals organized thematically. Here, readers will meet a variety of seminal characters: the merchants of the first trading posts and the commercial empire of the St. Lawrence; the industrialists of the Maritimes, Central Canada, and the West; the railway builders and urban developers; and everyone in between.
Bringing to the fore new Dictionary of Canadian Biography research on the rise of Canadian entrepreneurialism - one of the least explored yet most important themes in our history - this book showcases Canada's long-running tradition of business innovation and growth.
J. Andrew Ross is a postdoctoral fellow in the Historical Data Research Unit, University of Guelph, Ontario.
Andrew Smith is a Lecturer in International Business at the University of Liverpool Management School.