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Patrick Burns (politician)
Encyclopedia
Patrick Burns was a Canadian rancher, meat packer, businessman, senator
, and philanthropist.
A self-made man, he built one of the world's largest integrated meat-packing empires, P. Burns & Co., and was one of the wealthiest Canadians of his time. He is honoured as one of the Big Four western cattle kings who started the Calgary Stampede
in Alberta in 1912. While making his fortune in the meat industry, ranching was his true passion. Burns' 700000 acres (2,832.8 km²) of cattle ranches
covered so vast an area of Southern Alberta
that he could travel from Cochrane
to the US border without ever leaving his land. In 1931 Burns was appointed to the Canadian Senate as a representative for Alberta.
On October 16, 2008, the Calgary Herald
named Pat Burns as the greatest citizen in Alberta's history.
, Ontario in 1856, Patrick was the fourth of eleven children of Michael and Bridgit O'Byrne. Shortly after, the family moved to Kirkfield, Ontario
where Pat would spend the majority of his childhood. His parents had emigrated from Ireland and, as part of the naturalization process, the family name was shortened to Byrne and then later to Burns. Pat had very little formal schooling but learned a great deal about hard work and thriftiness from his parents.
Pat spent his last summer in Kirkfield chopping wood for a neighbour. It had been his intent to save enough money to travel out west however when it came time for him to collect his pay he discovered that his employer did not have enough cash to cover the $100 he was owed for his labour and was instead he was given two oxen as payment. These two oxen had a resale value of $70 but Pat saw an alternative. Instead he made $140 by slaughterings the animals and reselling its meat and by-products. The experience was one he would remember during his later days as an entrepreneur.
He headed out west with his brothers John and Dominic in 1878, at the age of 22. They started out by steamer but when they reached Rat Portage he feared that if he paid for transportation the rest of the way, he might lack funds on his arrival. Undaunted, he bought some bread and cheese and, with his gun for protection, walked the rest of the way to Winnipeg. Pat and John were impressed by reports of good lands to the west and decided to take advantage of the Dominion Homestead Act
of 1872. The brothers set out on foot to locate their homesteads and walked 160 miles (257.5 km) until finding land to their liking just east of Minnedosa
.
Pat continued to homestead in Manitoba
until after the Louis Riel
uprising but gradually became involved in buying cattle and selling meat. He began his meat packing career with a cow bought on credit and sold for four dollars. He began freighting goods from Winnipeg
and driving his neighbours' cattle to the Winnipeg market. By 1885 Burns was buying and selling his own cattle.
It was as a contractor from railway construction that Burns transitioned from being a small-time broker to a successful entrepreneur. In 1887, William Mackenzie
and his partners Donald Mann
, James Ross, and Herbert Holt
secured a railway construction contract to drive a line from Quebec
through Maine
to the Eastern seaboard. Mackenzie had grown up in Kirkfield and remembered Pat from their briefly shared school days and time spent working in their fields. He was also aware of Burns' experience in the livestock business, so Mackenzie gave him the opportunity to provision the labourers who were to construct the line. Burns learned to establish a mobile slaughtering facility which could move easily as the railhead was extended. The success of the contract in Maine led to whole succession of other contracts with Mackenzie and Mann.
Pat Burns moved to Calgary
in 1890, where he established his first substantial slaughterhouse. In 1898, he built a packing house in Calgary followed by others in Vancouver
, Edmonton
, Prince Albert
and Regina
. He then turned to ranching on a large scale and acquired large tracts of land. His company, P. Burns & Co. (later Burns Foods) became western Canada's largest meatpacking company. At the grand opening of his second abattoir in 1899, to replace the first that had burned down, the Calgary Herald described the event as "the passing of yet another milestone on the road to Calgary's full measure of prosperity."
In 1901 he married Eileen Ellis of Penticton in a small ceremony in London, England. Back in Calgary, Burns was building a house for him and his new bride. Burns Manor
, on the corner of 4th Street and 13th Avenue S.W., designed by Pat's friend famed architect Francis Rattenbury
, was a grand, 18-room sandstone mansion, visited by the likes of Prime Ministers and Royalty. Construction took two years during which time the couple lived at the Alberta Hotel on Stephen Avenue
. Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Burns had one son, Patrick Michael Burns, born in Calgary in 1906.
In 1912, he was one of the Big Four
, who started the Calgary Stampede.
Together with A.E. Cross, A.J. McLean, and George Lane
, they arranged $100,000 worth of financing and billed the event as "The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth." At that point in time Pat Burns personally owned six ranches with 38,000 head of cattle, 1,500 horses and 20,000 sheep. His company, Burns Foods, had abattoirs in Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Prince Alberta, and Regina with an overall daily capacity of 1,070 cattle, 6,000 pigs, and 3,000 sheep. Burns' facilities were of the utmost sanitation and technically advanced to a level previously unseen in Western Canada. Facilities were eventually opened in Winnipeg, Seattle, Australia, and Great Britain.
Burns was able to revolutionize the slaughterhouse industry by emphasizing efficiency in the utilization of by-products. Traditionally much of the animals had been lost to waste but with his advanced abattoirs, Burns was able to expand the list of recoverable products. This included leather, fats for soap, bone for bone meal and manufactured articles, fertilizers, glycerine, hair for brushes, and even an array of pharmaceuticals. Burns would joke that the only product not recovered were the pigs' squeals which could have been sold to politicians.
Burns played a crucial role in WWI by supplying meat to troops overseas. One such example was the shipment of over 2,000 tons of pork shipped to troops in France during the first half of 1917. After the war, Belgium
was looking to secure a meat supply from a North American company. With no American distributors able to meet the call, Burns stepped in to help the devastated nation.
Throughout the early 1900s to 1914 he would be the principal meat supplier for the workers during the construction of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway
. One of the Foley, Welch and Stewart
, sternwheelers
, the Skeena
was used for the express purpose of delivering Pat Burns' beef to the railway construction camps in British Columbia
.
As part of his western expansion, Burns purchased several thousand acres of land south of Vancouver with the intent of using it for grazing cattle. The property included a significant amount of wetland which was not ideal terrain for cattle grazing so this didn’t work out too well. The land was renamed the Burns Bog
and maintained its original state until around the 1940s when peat harvesting began and parts of the bog were dug up.
In 1907, Pat's brother Dominic Burns oversaw the construction of Burns Foods' first slaughterhouse in Vancouver
. When it was torn down in 1969 the man in charge of the demolition said it was the toughest building to destroy he had ever seen with brick walls that were 36 centimetres (14 inches) thick.
Pat Burns constructed the historic 18 West Hastings Street as his regional head office and one of several retail outlets in the city. The building is a six-storey brick Edwardian commercial building located on West Hastings Street in Vancouver. During the late nineteenth and early twentieth century The Hastings Street corridor was the centre for Vancouver's trade and manufacturing.
In 1910 Dominic had the Vancouver Block built on Granville Street
. Dominic moved into the penthouse upon completion of the building in 1912 and lived there until his death in 1933. The building is recognized by its large clock tower and has incredible historic value with its prominent location (highest point of land in Downtown Vancouver) and being an early example of Edwardian commercial buildings that typified the building boom at the turn of the 20th century.
The Blakeburn coalmine near Princeton and Coalmont
was another of Burns' ventures.
The Bow Valley Farm became the functional headquarters of his cattle empire. Burns purchased the Ranche in 1902 from William Roper Hull. Burns also acquired adjacent sections of land, as they became available. Eventually the Burns Ranch at Bow Valley included some 20000 acres (80.9 km²) bounded on the north by what is now Stampede Park, on the east by the Bow River
, on the south by 146th Avenue, and on the west by MacLeod Trail
– a large property by any standards, but only a small segment of Pat Burns' ranching empire. The farm was an ideal location with respect to the Burns family meat packing plant. Many large cattle drives were brought to the site where the animals were bedded, fed, watered and rested before being herded to the stockyards. Burns frequently offered the hospitality of the ranch to distinguished people visiting the Calgary area.
Hull was responsible for building the natural brick two storey Bow Valley Ranche House which was said to be the finest country home in the territories. At the time Burns bought the property, the house was a two-hour ride away from Calgary and he used it as a weekend retreat. Today the house serves as the elegant Ranche Restaurant in Fish Creek Provincial Park
.
After Pat's death, his nephew and business successor Michael John Burns came to live in Bow Valley Ranche House. Under his supervision, the ranching operation continued to prosper and he also preserved the established tradition of true western hospitality remembered by many Calgarians. In failing health, Michael John Burns moved to Calgary in 1950, and his son Richard J. Burns came to live at the ranch with his wife and three sons. Under his management, many more improvements were made, including the construction of a tennis court, a swimming pool, and a one-story addition. Richard J. Burns lived at the site until 1970. In 1973, the Alberta Provincial Government purchased the Bow Valley Ranche from the Burns Foundation as part of the development of Fish Creek Provincial Park.
By the era of the Great War Burns had become one of Canada's most successful businessmen and had butcher shops and abattoirs all across Western Canada. He had over 100 retail meat shops in the provinces of British Columbia and Alberta. He also established 65 creameries and cheese factories, 11 wholesale provision houses and 18 wholesale fruit houses. He extended his empire overseas and set up agencies in London, Liverpool
and Yokohama
. In 1928 Burns Foods generated sales of about $40 million, equal to about a billion dollars in present-day terms.
That year he sold his interests in Burns Foods for $15 million to Dominion Securities
and the company was renamed Burns & Co. Ltd. In the sale, Burns retained control over his true passion, his vast cattle ranches that covered so large an area of Southern Alberta
that Pat could travel from Cochrane
to the USA border without ever leaving his land. At the height of his empire his assets included nearly 700000 acres (2,832.8 km²) of ranch land, roughly the size of Luxembourg
. One of his most prized possessions was the Bar U Ranch
south of Calgary, among the largest in the country. It was also one of the first and most enduring large corporate ranches of the West. Under its ownership by George Lane it had achieved international repute as a centre of breeding excellence for cattle and purebred Percheron
horses. Burns acquired the property from Lane's estate after his close friend died in 1925. Some of the other ranches in his possession were Willow Creek, Glengarry (44), Bradfield, Two Dot, Rio Alto, Linehum, Flying E, and C.K.
In 1931, he was appointed to the Canadian Senate
by his close friend R. B. Bennett
to represent the senatorial division of Northern Alberta. In making the announcement, Prime Minister Bennett had this to say about him: “Holding your wealth as a trust, you have given generously to every good cause and your life has been an inspiration to the younger generation.” He sat as an Independent until he resigned for health reasons in 1936.
Pat was predeceased by both his wife Eileen and their child Patrick Michael. The Senator died in Calgary on February 24, 1937 with his nephew John and family at his side. He is buried alongside his son in St. Mary's Cemetery in Calgary.
Upon his death, he left his estate to his nieces and nephews and many charities. The tax on the estate of the Senator was enough to offset the provincial deficit and balance the budget. As a result, the Social Credit Party
was able to permanently eliminate the Provincial Sales Tax.
devastated the community of Frank, Alberta
in 1903, Pat Burns was among the first to send aid. Five years later, when fire swept through Fernie, British Columbia
, leaving 6,000 people homeless, he sent carloads of food. He was a staunch supporter of many children’s charities, making sure that the local orphanage was always well-stocked with free high-quality meat. He was an active Catholic but also supported other religious groups. When he was called upon to pay for the painting of a small Catholic church near Calgary, he requested that the Anglican church next door also be painted, at his expense, so that it didn’t look shabby by comparison. He was extremely generous to the Diocese of Calgary
and donated large sums to St. Mary's Parish. He donated three 750-pound bells to St. Mary's Cathedral
in 1904 that were cast by the Fonderie Paccard
in Anneey, France. These bells were the only parts from the old building used in the construction of the existing Cathedral. He paid for the construction of Albert Lacombe
's "Hermitage
" in Pincher Creek
, and donated the land for the Lacombe Nursing Home at Midnapore, which he kept provisioned at his expense.
Burns placed a high value on education. He contributed to the creation of Western Canada College – now Western Canada High School
- in Calgary, provided the funding for the erection of St. Joseph's College
at the University of Alberta
, and financed construction on a new school building, new residence, and donated land for expansion at Vancouver College
in Vancouver.
On the August 11, 1914, he offered 10 thousand pounds sterling ($50,000 Can) to fully equip a complete "Legion" (Mounted Rifles Regiment) of Canadian Legion of Frontiersmen, for the Canadian Government's war effort. Evening Post August 13, 1914.
In 1914 Pope Benedict XV
created him a Knight Commander of the Order of St. Gregory the Great
, the first Canadian to receive such an honor. He was also a Knight of St. John of Jerusalem
, and an honorary colonel in Calgary's 31st Regiment.
In honour of his 75th birthday, a huge cake (said at the time to be the world’s largest birthday cake) led the Stampede parade and was cut and distributed that evening to the city's underprivileged citizens. Further to that, he celebrated his birthday by giving a five-pound roast to every family in which the head of the house was unemployed and a ticket for a meal at any restaurant in the city to the unmarried unemployed. Those were Depression days and the gifts were much needed. Two thousand Calgary families received the roasts and 4,000 single unemployed dined out on Pat Burns.
Patrick Burns took special interest to environment conservation. Recognizing the value of the trees in Fish Creek Valley, he directed his foreman to erect fences around the groves of aspen and poplar as protection from the cattle. They also planted some 2,000 poplar along the MacLeod Trail adjacent to Bow Valley Ranche.
Today, Burns Memorial Fund is made up of a private charitable foundation (the Children’s Fund) and two non-profit trusts (the Police Fund and the Fire Fund). These funds operate collectively as the Burns Memorial Fund.
organized the search for Our Greatest Albertan. In what is considered the largest citizen journalism project in the province, readers originally nominated 125 people for consideration. A Top 10 list was culminated from months of thought, debate and votes from the public. Along with Pat Burns the list included former premier Peter Lougheed
, former mayor and lieutenant-governor Grant MacEwan
and Famous Five member Nellie McClung
. On October 16, 2008, at a gala at Heritage Park, Patrick Burns was named the province's greatest citizen. The Herald commented that "His story is the story of Alberta. His struggles, his dreams, his success and philanthropy define the very core of our western character."
Canadian Senate
The Senate of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the House of Commons, and the monarch . The Senate consists of 105 members appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister...
, and philanthropist.
A self-made man, he built one of the world's largest integrated meat-packing empires, P. Burns & Co., and was one of the wealthiest Canadians of his time. He is honoured as one of the Big Four western cattle kings who started the Calgary Stampede
Calgary Stampede
The Calgary Stampede is an annual rodeo, exhibition and festival held every July in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The ten-day event, which bills itself as "The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth", attracts over one million visitors per year and features one of the world's largest rodeos, a parade, midway,...
in Alberta in 1912. While making his fortune in the meat industry, ranching was his true passion. Burns' 700000 acres (2,832.8 km²) of cattle ranches
Ranch
A ranch is an area of landscape, including various structures, given primarily to the practice of ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle or sheep for meat or wool. The word most often applies to livestock-raising operations in the western United States and Canada, though...
covered so vast an area of Southern Alberta
Southern Alberta
Southern Alberta is a region located in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of the year 2004, the region's population was approximately 272,017. The primary cities are Lethbridge and Medicine Hat...
that he could travel from Cochrane
Cochrane, Alberta
Cochrane is a town in the Canadian province of Alberta. The town is located 18 km west of the Calgary city limits along Highway 1A. With a population of 15,424 , Cochrane is the second largest town in Alberta and one of the fastest growing communities in Canada...
to the US border without ever leaving his land. In 1931 Burns was appointed to the Canadian Senate as a representative for Alberta.
On October 16, 2008, the Calgary Herald
Calgary Herald
The Calgary Herald is a daily newspaper published in the Canadian city of Calgary, Alberta.- History :The paper was first published on August 31, 1883 by Andrew Armour and Thomas Braden as The Calgary Herald, Mining and Ranche Advocate and General Advertiser. It started as a weekly paper with only...
named Pat Burns as the greatest citizen in Alberta's history.
Early years
Born in OshawaOshawa
Oshawa is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It lies in Southern Ontario approximately 60 kilometres east of downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the eastern anchor of both the Greater Toronto Area and the Golden Horseshoe. It is now commonly referred to as the most...
, Ontario in 1856, Patrick was the fourth of eleven children of Michael and Bridgit O'Byrne. Shortly after, the family moved to Kirkfield, Ontario
Kirkfield, Ontario
Kirkfield is a village located in the city of Kawartha Lakes, in the Canadian province of Ontario. The unincorporated village was named in 1864 after the initial name, Novar, was rejected by the government. A list of 8 possible choices was then offered. The village, being predominantly Scottish at...
where Pat would spend the majority of his childhood. His parents had emigrated from Ireland and, as part of the naturalization process, the family name was shortened to Byrne and then later to Burns. Pat had very little formal schooling but learned a great deal about hard work and thriftiness from his parents.
Pat spent his last summer in Kirkfield chopping wood for a neighbour. It had been his intent to save enough money to travel out west however when it came time for him to collect his pay he discovered that his employer did not have enough cash to cover the $100 he was owed for his labour and was instead he was given two oxen as payment. These two oxen had a resale value of $70 but Pat saw an alternative. Instead he made $140 by slaughterings the animals and reselling its meat and by-products. The experience was one he would remember during his later days as an entrepreneur.
He headed out west with his brothers John and Dominic in 1878, at the age of 22. They started out by steamer but when they reached Rat Portage he feared that if he paid for transportation the rest of the way, he might lack funds on his arrival. Undaunted, he bought some bread and cheese and, with his gun for protection, walked the rest of the way to Winnipeg. Pat and John were impressed by reports of good lands to the west and decided to take advantage of the Dominion Homestead Act
Dominion Lands Act
The Dominion Lands Act was an 1872 Canadian law that aimed to encourage the settlement of Canada's Prairie provinces. It was closely based on the United States Homestead Act, setting conditions in which the western lands could be settled and their natural resources developed...
of 1872. The brothers set out on foot to locate their homesteads and walked 160 miles (257.5 km) until finding land to their liking just east of Minnedosa
Minnedosa, Manitoba
Minnedosa is a town in the southwestern part of the Canadian province of Manitoba. Situated 50 kilometres north of Brandon, Manitoba on the Little Saskatchewan River, the name means "flowing water" in Sioux. The population of Minnedosa reported in the 2006 Statistics Canada Census was 2,474...
.
Pat continued to homestead in Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
until after the Louis Riel
Louis Riel
Louis David Riel was a Canadian politician, a founder of the province of Manitoba, and a political and spiritual leader of the Métis people of the Canadian prairies. He led two resistance movements against the Canadian government and its first post-Confederation Prime Minister, Sir John A....
uprising but gradually became involved in buying cattle and selling meat. He began his meat packing career with a cow bought on credit and sold for four dollars. He began freighting goods from Winnipeg
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
and driving his neighbours' cattle to the Winnipeg market. By 1885 Burns was buying and selling his own cattle.
It was as a contractor from railway construction that Burns transitioned from being a small-time broker to a successful entrepreneur. In 1887, William Mackenzie
William Mackenzie (railway entrepreneur)
Sir William Mackenzie was a Canadian railway contractor and entrepreneur.Born near Peterborough, Ontario, Mackenzie became a teacher and politician before entering business as the owner of a sawmill and gristmill in Kirkfield, Ontario...
and his partners Donald Mann
Donald Mann
Sir Donald Mann was a Canadian railway contractor and entrepreneur.Born at Acton, Ontario, Mann studied as a Methodist minister but worked in lumber camps in Ontario and Michigan before moving to Winnipeg, Manitoba...
, James Ross, and Herbert Holt
Herbert Samuel Holt
Sir Herbert Samuel Holt was an Irish-born Canadian civil engineer who became a businessman, banker, and corporate director....
secured a railway construction contract to drive a line from Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
through Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
to the Eastern seaboard. Mackenzie had grown up in Kirkfield and remembered Pat from their briefly shared school days and time spent working in their fields. He was also aware of Burns' experience in the livestock business, so Mackenzie gave him the opportunity to provision the labourers who were to construct the line. Burns learned to establish a mobile slaughtering facility which could move easily as the railhead was extended. The success of the contract in Maine led to whole succession of other contracts with Mackenzie and Mann.
Alberta
Calgary
Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
in 1890, where he established his first substantial slaughterhouse. In 1898, he built a packing house in Calgary followed by others in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, Edmonton
Edmonton
Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...
, Prince Albert
Prince Albert, Saskatchewan
Prince Albert is the third-largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada. It is situated in the centre of the province on the banks of the North Saskatchewan River. The city is known as the "Gateway to the North" because it is the last major centre along the route to the resources of northern Saskatchewan...
and Regina
Regina, Saskatchewan
Regina is the capital city of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province and a cultural and commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. It is governed by Regina City Council. Regina is the cathedral city of the Roman Catholic and Romanian Orthodox...
. He then turned to ranching on a large scale and acquired large tracts of land. His company, P. Burns & Co. (later Burns Foods) became western Canada's largest meatpacking company. At the grand opening of his second abattoir in 1899, to replace the first that had burned down, the Calgary Herald described the event as "the passing of yet another milestone on the road to Calgary's full measure of prosperity."
In 1901 he married Eileen Ellis of Penticton in a small ceremony in London, England. Back in Calgary, Burns was building a house for him and his new bride. Burns Manor
Burns Manor
Burns Manor was the Calgary residence of Senator Pat Burns, a successful businessman who founded Burns Meat. It was located in the Beltline District of Calgary, Alberta on 4th Street between 13th and 14th Avenue. Construction started in 1900 and was completed in 1903...
, on the corner of 4th Street and 13th Avenue S.W., designed by Pat's friend famed architect Francis Rattenbury
Francis Rattenbury
Francis Mawson Rattenbury was an architect born in England, although most of his career was spent in British Columbia, Canada where he designed many notable buildings. Divorced amid scandal, he was murdered in England at the age of 68 by his second wife's lover.- Architectural career :Rattenbury...
, was a grand, 18-room sandstone mansion, visited by the likes of Prime Ministers and Royalty. Construction took two years during which time the couple lived at the Alberta Hotel on Stephen Avenue
Stephen Avenue
Stephen Avenue is a major pedestrian mall in downtown Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The mall is actually the portion of 8 Avenue SW between 4 Street SW and 1 Street SE. It is open to vehicles only from 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m....
. Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Burns had one son, Patrick Michael Burns, born in Calgary in 1906.
The Big Four (Calgary)
The Big Four were the wealthy Alberta cattlemen Patrick Burns, George Lane, A. E. Cross and Archie McLean. Together they founded the Calgary Stampede, as well as other cultural and entrepreneurial activities in Calgary, Alberta, Canada in the early years of the 20th century.George Lane and A.J....
, who started the Calgary Stampede.
Together with A.E. Cross, A.J. McLean, and George Lane
George Lane (politician)
George Lane was an American-born Canadian politician and rancher and known as one of the Big Four who helped found the Calgary Stampede in 1912.George was foreman at the world famous Bar U Ranch....
, they arranged $100,000 worth of financing and billed the event as "The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth." At that point in time Pat Burns personally owned six ranches with 38,000 head of cattle, 1,500 horses and 20,000 sheep. His company, Burns Foods, had abattoirs in Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Prince Alberta, and Regina with an overall daily capacity of 1,070 cattle, 6,000 pigs, and 3,000 sheep. Burns' facilities were of the utmost sanitation and technically advanced to a level previously unseen in Western Canada. Facilities were eventually opened in Winnipeg, Seattle, Australia, and Great Britain.
Burns was able to revolutionize the slaughterhouse industry by emphasizing efficiency in the utilization of by-products. Traditionally much of the animals had been lost to waste but with his advanced abattoirs, Burns was able to expand the list of recoverable products. This included leather, fats for soap, bone for bone meal and manufactured articles, fertilizers, glycerine, hair for brushes, and even an array of pharmaceuticals. Burns would joke that the only product not recovered were the pigs' squeals which could have been sold to politicians.
Burns played a crucial role in WWI by supplying meat to troops overseas. One such example was the shipment of over 2,000 tons of pork shipped to troops in France during the first half of 1917. After the war, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
was looking to secure a meat supply from a North American company. With no American distributors able to meet the call, Burns stepped in to help the devastated nation.
British Columbia
Grand Trunk Pacific Railway
The Grand Trunk Pacific Railway was a historical Canadian railway.A wholly owned subsidiary of the Grand Trunk Railway , the GTPR was constructed by GTR using loans provided by the Government of Canada. The company was formed in 1903 with a mandate to build west from Winnipeg, Manitoba to the...
. One of the Foley, Welch and Stewart
Foley, Welch and Stewart
Foley, Welch and Stewart was an early 20th century American-Canadian railroad contracting company.They built miles of track for the Great Northern Railway, Northern Pacific Railroad, Canadian Pacific Railway, Canadian Northern Railway, Grand Trunk Pacific Railway and Pacific Great Eastern Railway...
, sternwheelers
Paddle steamer
A paddle steamer is a steamship or riverboat, powered by a steam engine, using paddle wheels to propel it through the water. In antiquity, Paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses were wheelers driven by animals or humans...
, the Skeena
Skeena (sternwheeler)
The Skeena sternwheeler was one of five sternwheelers built for the use on the Skeena River by Foley, Welch and Stewart for construction work on the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway from 1909 until 1911. She was built at Robertson's yard in Coal Harbour, Vancouver, in 1908. The other four were the...
was used for the express purpose of delivering Pat Burns' beef to the railway construction camps in British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
.
As part of his western expansion, Burns purchased several thousand acres of land south of Vancouver with the intent of using it for grazing cattle. The property included a significant amount of wetland which was not ideal terrain for cattle grazing so this didn’t work out too well. The land was renamed the Burns Bog
Burns Bog
The Burns Bog is the largest domed peat bog on the west coast of North America. It covers an area of about and occupies a quarter of Delta, British Columbia, about southeast of downtown Vancouver, and is bounded by BC Highway 10 on its south, the Annacis Highway on its east, and River Road, along...
and maintained its original state until around the 1940s when peat harvesting began and parts of the bog were dug up.
In 1907, Pat's brother Dominic Burns oversaw the construction of Burns Foods' first slaughterhouse in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
. When it was torn down in 1969 the man in charge of the demolition said it was the toughest building to destroy he had ever seen with brick walls that were 36 centimetres (14 inches) thick.
Pat Burns constructed the historic 18 West Hastings Street as his regional head office and one of several retail outlets in the city. The building is a six-storey brick Edwardian commercial building located on West Hastings Street in Vancouver. During the late nineteenth and early twentieth century The Hastings Street corridor was the centre for Vancouver's trade and manufacturing.
In 1910 Dominic had the Vancouver Block built on Granville Street
Granville Street
Granville Street is a major street in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and part of Highway 99.-Location:Granville Street runs generally north-south through the centre of Vancouver, passing through several neighbourhoods and commercial areas, differing appreciably in their land value and the...
. Dominic moved into the penthouse upon completion of the building in 1912 and lived there until his death in 1933. The building is recognized by its large clock tower and has incredible historic value with its prominent location (highest point of land in Downtown Vancouver) and being an early example of Edwardian commercial buildings that typified the building boom at the turn of the 20th century.
The Blakeburn coalmine near Princeton and Coalmont
Coalmont, British Columbia
Coalmont is a tiny mining town, northwest of Princeton, British Columbia, Canada, on the north bank of the Tulameen River. It is near the community of Tulameen and Otter Lake and the Coldwater Junction of the Coquihalla Highway. The town was established in 1912 to serve as a supply point to the...
was another of Burns' ventures.
Bow Valley Ranch
Bow River
The Bow River is a river in the Canadian province of Alberta. It is a tributary of the South Saskatchewan River, and is considered the headwater of the Nelson River....
, on the south by 146th Avenue, and on the west by MacLeod Trail
Macleod Trail (Calgary)
Macleod Trail is a major road in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It is a six to eight lane principal arterial road extending from downtown Calgary to the south of the city, where it merges into Highway 2. South of Anderson Road, Macleod Trail is an expressway and is slated to be upgraded to a freeway in...
– a large property by any standards, but only a small segment of Pat Burns' ranching empire. The farm was an ideal location with respect to the Burns family meat packing plant. Many large cattle drives were brought to the site where the animals were bedded, fed, watered and rested before being herded to the stockyards. Burns frequently offered the hospitality of the ranch to distinguished people visiting the Calgary area.
Hull was responsible for building the natural brick two storey Bow Valley Ranche House which was said to be the finest country home in the territories. At the time Burns bought the property, the house was a two-hour ride away from Calgary and he used it as a weekend retreat. Today the house serves as the elegant Ranche Restaurant in Fish Creek Provincial Park
Fish Creek Provincial Park
Fish Creek Park is a provincial park located in the southern part of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It is one of the largest urban parks in North America, stretching from east to west. At , it is over three times the size of Vancouver's Stanley Park....
.
After Pat's death, his nephew and business successor Michael John Burns came to live in Bow Valley Ranche House. Under his supervision, the ranching operation continued to prosper and he also preserved the established tradition of true western hospitality remembered by many Calgarians. In failing health, Michael John Burns moved to Calgary in 1950, and his son Richard J. Burns came to live at the ranch with his wife and three sons. Under his management, many more improvements were made, including the construction of a tennis court, a swimming pool, and a one-story addition. Richard J. Burns lived at the site until 1970. In 1973, the Alberta Provincial Government purchased the Bow Valley Ranche from the Burns Foundation as part of the development of Fish Creek Provincial Park.
Later years
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
and Yokohama
Yokohama
is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...
. In 1928 Burns Foods generated sales of about $40 million, equal to about a billion dollars in present-day terms.
That year he sold his interests in Burns Foods for $15 million to Dominion Securities
RBC Dominion Securities
RBC Dominion Securities is the brand used by Royal Bank of Canada for full service brokerage services primarily in Canada. It forms part of RBC's Wealth Management division. Established in Toronto in 1901, it originally focused on government and municipal but diversified into war bonds during...
and the company was renamed Burns & Co. Ltd. In the sale, Burns retained control over his true passion, his vast cattle ranches that covered so large an area of Southern Alberta
Southern Alberta
Southern Alberta is a region located in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of the year 2004, the region's population was approximately 272,017. The primary cities are Lethbridge and Medicine Hat...
that Pat could travel from Cochrane
Cochrane, Alberta
Cochrane is a town in the Canadian province of Alberta. The town is located 18 km west of the Calgary city limits along Highway 1A. With a population of 15,424 , Cochrane is the second largest town in Alberta and one of the fastest growing communities in Canada...
to the USA border without ever leaving his land. At the height of his empire his assets included nearly 700000 acres (2,832.8 km²) of ranch land, roughly the size of Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
. One of his most prized possessions was the Bar U Ranch
Bar U Ranch
The Bar U Ranch National Historic Site, located near Longview, Alberta, is a preserved ranch that for 70 years was one of the leading ranching operations in Canada. At its peak, the ranch extended over with 30,000 cattle and 1000 Percheron horses...
south of Calgary, among the largest in the country. It was also one of the first and most enduring large corporate ranches of the West. Under its ownership by George Lane it had achieved international repute as a centre of breeding excellence for cattle and purebred Percheron
Percheron
The Percheron is a breed of draft horse that originated in the Perche valley in northern France. Percherons are usually gray or black in color. They are well-muscled, and known for their intelligence and willingness to work. Although their exact origins are unknown, the ancestors of the breed were...
horses. Burns acquired the property from Lane's estate after his close friend died in 1925. Some of the other ranches in his possession were Willow Creek, Glengarry (44), Bradfield, Two Dot, Rio Alto, Linehum, Flying E, and C.K.
Canadian Senate
The Senate of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the House of Commons, and the monarch . The Senate consists of 105 members appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister...
by his close friend R. B. Bennett
R. B. Bennett
Richard Bedford Bennett, 1st Viscount Bennett, PC, KC was a Canadian lawyer, businessman, politician, and philanthropist. He served as the 11th Prime Minister of Canada from August 7, 1930, to October 23, 1935, during the worst of the Great Depression years...
to represent the senatorial division of Northern Alberta. In making the announcement, Prime Minister Bennett had this to say about him: “Holding your wealth as a trust, you have given generously to every good cause and your life has been an inspiration to the younger generation.” He sat as an Independent until he resigned for health reasons in 1936.
Pat was predeceased by both his wife Eileen and their child Patrick Michael. The Senator died in Calgary on February 24, 1937 with his nephew John and family at his side. He is buried alongside his son in St. Mary's Cemetery in Calgary.
Upon his death, he left his estate to his nieces and nephews and many charities. The tax on the estate of the Senator was enough to offset the provincial deficit and balance the budget. As a result, the Social Credit Party
Social Credit Party of Alberta
The Alberta Social Credit Party is a provincial political party in Alberta, Canada, that was founded on the social credit monetary policy and conservative Christian social values....
was able to permanently eliminate the Provincial Sales Tax.
Philanthropy
Senator Pat was known as a man of few words but great generosity. There are many stories of his readiness to help those in need. When a huge rock slideFrank Slide
The Frank Slide is a natural landslide feature in the southern Rocky Mountains of Canada, and a significant historical event in western Canada.Frank, Alberta is a coal mining town in the Crowsnest Pass, Alberta...
devastated the community of Frank, Alberta
Frank, Alberta
Frank is an urban community in the Rocky Mountains within the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass in southwest Alberta, Canada. It was formerly incorporated as a village prior to 1979 when it amalgamated with four other municipalities to form Crowsnest Pass....
in 1903, Pat Burns was among the first to send aid. Five years later, when fire swept through Fernie, British Columbia
Fernie, British Columbia
Fernie is a city in the Elk Valley area of the East Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia, Canada, located on BC Highway 3 on the eastern approaches to the Crowsnest Pass through the Rocky Mountains...
, leaving 6,000 people homeless, he sent carloads of food. He was a staunch supporter of many children’s charities, making sure that the local orphanage was always well-stocked with free high-quality meat. He was an active Catholic but also supported other religious groups. When he was called upon to pay for the painting of a small Catholic church near Calgary, he requested that the Anglican church next door also be painted, at his expense, so that it didn’t look shabby by comparison. He was extremely generous to the Diocese of Calgary
Roman Catholic Diocese of Calgary
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Calgary is a diocese that includes the Calgary Region, all of southern Alberta and the extreme lower half of the Alberta's Rockies region. It is currently led by Bishop Frederick Henry...
and donated large sums to St. Mary's Parish. He donated three 750-pound bells to St. Mary's Cathedral
St. Mary's Cathedral (Calgary)
St. Mary's Cathedral in Calgary, Alberta, Canada is a Roman Catholic cathedral. The building’s full name is The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.- History:...
in 1904 that were cast by the Fonderie Paccard
Fonderie Paccard
Fonderie Paccard is a French foundry founded in 1796, which has cast more than 120,000 bells located throughout the world. The foundry has been continuously operated for seven generations by the Paccard family. The largest bell cast by Paccard is the World Peace Bell....
in Anneey, France. These bells were the only parts from the old building used in the construction of the existing Cathedral. He paid for the construction of Albert Lacombe
Albert Lacombe
Albert Lacombe , commonly known in Alberta simply as Father Lacombe, was a French-Canadian Roman Catholic missionary who lived among and evangelized the Cree and Blackfoot First Nations of western Canada...
's "Hermitage
Hermitage (religious retreat)
Although today's meaning is usually a place where a hermit lives in seclusion from the world, hermitage was more commonly used to mean a settlement where a person or a group of people lived religiously, in seclusion.-Western Christian Tradition:...
" in Pincher Creek
Pincher Creek, Alberta
Pincher Creek is a town in the southwest of Alberta, Canada. It is located immediately east of the Canadian Rockies in the centre of ranching country, north of Waterton Lakes National Park.The town's mayor is Ernie Olsen.- History :...
, and donated the land for the Lacombe Nursing Home at Midnapore, which he kept provisioned at his expense.
Burns placed a high value on education. He contributed to the creation of Western Canada College – now Western Canada High School
Western Canada High School
Western Canada High School is a public senior high school in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It has classes for grades 10 through 12. Western is located in the 17th Avenue business district of the Lower Mount Royal community, and is the most centrally located public high school in Calgary.-History:The...
- in Calgary, provided the funding for the erection of St. Joseph's College
St. Joseph's College, Edmonton
St. Joseph's College is a Catholic, undergraduate, liberal arts college that also serves as a residence and place of worship for the Catholic community on campus...
at the University of Alberta
University of Alberta
The University of Alberta is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta and Henry Marshall Tory, its first president, it is widely recognized as one of the best universities in Canada...
, and financed construction on a new school building, new residence, and donated land for expansion at Vancouver College
Vancouver College
Vancouver College is an all-boys university-preparatory Catholic school located in the Shaughnessy neighbourhood of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. VC's elementary and secondary programs have a combined population of over 1,000 students. Despite its Catholic denomination, it is open to all...
in Vancouver.
On the August 11, 1914, he offered 10 thousand pounds sterling ($50,000 Can) to fully equip a complete "Legion" (Mounted Rifles Regiment) of Canadian Legion of Frontiersmen, for the Canadian Government's war effort. Evening Post August 13, 1914.
In 1914 Pope Benedict XV
Pope Benedict XV
Pope Benedict XV , born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, reigned as Pope from 3 September 1914 to 22 January 1922...
created him a Knight Commander of the Order of St. Gregory the Great
Order of St. Gregory the Great
The Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great , was established on September 1, 1831, by Pope Gregory XVI, seven months after his election.It is one of the five orders of knighthood of the Holy See...
, the first Canadian to receive such an honor. He was also a Knight of St. John of Jerusalem
Venerable Order of Saint John
The Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem , is a royal order of chivalry established in 1831 and found today throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, Hong Kong, Ireland and the United States of America, with the world-wide mission "to prevent and relieve sickness and...
, and an honorary colonel in Calgary's 31st Regiment.
Patrick Burns took special interest to environment conservation. Recognizing the value of the trees in Fish Creek Valley, he directed his foreman to erect fences around the groves of aspen and poplar as protection from the cattle. They also planted some 2,000 poplar along the MacLeod Trail adjacent to Bow Valley Ranche.
Burns Memorial Fund
In his will Senator Burns endowed a third of his estate to the Burns Memorial Fund. As such, in 1939 a court order was issued setting up trusteeship and administration of The Burns Memorial Bequest Fund for three groups of beneficiaries:- Widows and orphans of members of the police force of CalgaryCalgary Police ServiceCalgary Police Service, formed in 1885, is the municipal police force for the City of Calgary, Alberta.- Organization :Founded in 1885, the current head of the CPS is Chief Rick Hanson...
- Widows and orphans of members of the fire brigade of CalgaryCalgary Fire DepartmentThe Calgary Fire Department provides fire services for the city of Calgary, Alberta.The department was created on 25 August 1885 as the Calgary Hook, Ladder and Bucket Corps and a chemical engine was ordered soon after. The first Captain was George Constantine...
- Poor, indigent and neglected children of Calgary
Today, Burns Memorial Fund is made up of a private charitable foundation (the Children’s Fund) and two non-profit trusts (the Police Fund and the Fire Fund). These funds operate collectively as the Burns Memorial Fund.
Alberta's Greatest Citizen
As part of its 125th anniversary, the Calgary HeraldCalgary Herald
The Calgary Herald is a daily newspaper published in the Canadian city of Calgary, Alberta.- History :The paper was first published on August 31, 1883 by Andrew Armour and Thomas Braden as The Calgary Herald, Mining and Ranche Advocate and General Advertiser. It started as a weekly paper with only...
organized the search for Our Greatest Albertan. In what is considered the largest citizen journalism project in the province, readers originally nominated 125 people for consideration. A Top 10 list was culminated from months of thought, debate and votes from the public. Along with Pat Burns the list included former premier Peter Lougheed
Peter Lougheed
Edgar Peter Lougheed, PC, CC, AOE, QC, is a Canadian lawyer, and a former politician and Canadian Football League player. He served as the tenth Premier of Alberta from 1971 to 1985....
, former mayor and lieutenant-governor Grant MacEwan
Grant MacEwan
John Walter Grant MacEwan, best known as Grant MacEwan was a farmer, Professor at the University of Saskatchewan, Dean of Agriculture at the University of Manitoba, the 28th Mayor of Calgary and both a Member of the Legislative Assembly and the ninth Lieutenant Governor of Alberta, Canada...
and Famous Five member Nellie McClung
Nellie McClung
Nellie McClung, born Nellie Letitia Mooney , was a Canadian feminist, politician, and social activist. She was a part of the social and moral reform movements prevalent in Western Canada in the early 1900s...
. On October 16, 2008, at a gala at Heritage Park, Patrick Burns was named the province's greatest citizen. The Herald commented that "His story is the story of Alberta. His struggles, his dreams, his success and philanthropy define the very core of our western character."
Influence on Ranching
Burns was a major force behind the growth of ranching in Alberta. He purchased large herds of purebred Hereford stock, which he used to help fellow ranchers improve the blood lines of their own cattle. A pioneer of cold-weather ranching, Burns put up 250,000 tons of hay for winter feed, and convinced other ranchers to utilize winter feeding methods themselves. He renovated the corrals and feeding pens on his ranches, and also introduced modern feed-lot techniques to finish cattle for market.Places named after Pat Burns
Buildings
- Burns ManorBurns ManorBurns Manor was the Calgary residence of Senator Pat Burns, a successful businessman who founded Burns Meat. It was located in the Beltline District of Calgary, Alberta on 4th Street between 13th and 14th Avenue. Construction started in 1900 and was completed in 1903...
, Calgary - Burns Block, Calgary
- Burns Block, NelsonNelson, British ColumbiaNelson is a city located in the Selkirk Mountains on the extreme West Arm of Kootenay Lake in the Southern Interior of British Columbia, Canada. Known as "The Queen City", and acknowledged for its impressive collection of restored heritage buildings from its glory days in a regional silver rush,...
- Burns Block, Vancouver
- Burns BuildingBurns BuildingThe Burns Building is a historic six story building located in downtown Calgary, Alberta. It sits at 237-8th Ave. S.E. on the end of Stephen Avenue overlooking Olympic Plaza and City Hall.-History:...
, Calgary - Burns StadiumFoothills StadiumFoothills Stadium, formerly Burns Stadium, is a stadium in Calgary, Alberta. It is primarily used for baseball, and was formerly home to the Calgary Cannons AAA baseball club until September 2002, when the team relocated to Albuquerque. It is now the home field of the Calgary Vipers baseball team...
(former home of the Calgary CannonsCalgary CannonsThe Calgary Cannons were a minor league baseball team located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada for 18 seasons, from 1985 until 2002. They were a member of the AAA Pacific Coast League and played at Foothills Stadium. The Cannons replaced the Calgary Expos who played in the rookie level Pioneer League...
), Calgary, - Senator Patrick Burns Building at SAIT Polytechnic, Calgary
- Senator Patrick Burns School, Calgary
Neighbourhoods
- Burnsland, Southeast Calgary
- Burns Industrial Park, Calgary
- Burnsland Cemetery, Calgary
Roads
- Burnsland Road, Calgary
- Burns Ranch Road, Olds
- Burns Road, WinnipegWinnipegWinnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
- Patrick Street, Winnipeg
External links
- Patrick Burns: A Man of His Word
- Patrick Burns' Manor House
- Best of Alberta. Our Greatest Citizen Announced
- Patrick Burns at The Canadian EncyclopediaThe Canadian EncyclopediaThe Canadian Encyclopedia is a source of information on Canada. It is available online, at no cost. The Canadian Encyclopedia is available in both English and French and includes some 14,000 articles in each language on a wide variety of subjects including history, popular culture, events, people,...
- Burns Memorial Fund
- The Ranche Restaurant at the Bow Valley Ranche