The
Spirit of Max Bell
 An
extraordinarily astute and far-sighted son of the Canadian West,
George Maxwell Bell (1912-1972) contributed significantly to the
wave of expansion of North American enterprise in the mid-twentieth
century. During his multi-faceted career, Max Bell achieved pre-eminence
as a businessman, entrepreneur, oilman, newspaper publisher, sportsman
and philanthropist. A highly religious man, Max Bell was a sincere
and generous humanitarian who possessed great vision and the practical
bent necessary to translate it into reality.
Max
Bell thrived on taking risks. Throughout his life, he continually
supported unproven and often risky ventures. Both his mind and his
spirit fed on innovation. This spirit has guided the work of the
Foundation over the last 25 years.
Max
Bell's fulfillment of his high and diverse aspirations is a tribute
to the free enterprise system to which he was devoted. After graduating
from McGill University with a Commerce degree in 1932, he held various
jobs as a labourer and prospector in British Columbia.
Showing
his acumen and preference for what he called the "dealing side"
of business, he managed to secure a contract providing railway ties
to the Canadian Pacific Railway and invested the profits in a dormant
Turner Valley oil company.
In
1935, Max Bell became the business manager of his father's ailing
newspaper, The Albertan. Three months later his father died, leaving
the paper $500,000 in debt. In 1943, Mr. Bell raised enough money
with the help of four friends to buy The Albertan. Within two years
he had repaid all his father's debts.
An
investment in Turner Valley Oilwell #1 would yield Max Bell his
initial fortune as a result of the 1947 oil boom. He applied the
profits to other newspaper investments. In a related initiative,
he later became one of the original developers and owners of Alberta
Eastern Natural Gas Company, pursuing a vision of drilling for low
cost natural gas in southeastern Alberta.
Recognizing
the potential of consolidation on a national scale, Max Bell formed
a partnership with the late Victor Sifton and the late Richard S.
Malone of the Winnipeg Free Press. The pooling of their respective
newspaper holdings and their 1959 purchase of The Ottawa Journal
resulted in the formation of F.P. Publications, Ltd., which became
one of the largest newspaper chains in Canada. In 1961, Max Bell
became Chairman of the organization. Under its control were, amongst
others, the Vancouver Sun, the Toronto Globe and Mail, the Winnipeg
Free Press, the Lethbridge Herald, the Victoria Times and the Victoria
Colonist.
Never
content with exclusive involvement in any one enterprise, Max Bell
also served as a Director of the Canadian Pacific Railway, the Bank
of Nova Scotia, Northern Electric and a number of other major Canadian
corporations as he pursued his entrepreneurial interests.
A dedicated
athlete and fitness enthusiast, Max Bell was an internationally
recognized sportsman. He played both football and hockey at McGill
and hockey for the Kimberley Dynamiters. He developed a passionate
interest in thoroughbreds which he nurtured through his lifelong
friendship and association with the legendary jockey Johnny Longden
and long time friend Bing Crosby.
Not
surprisingly, he was as shrewd a handicapper of racehorses as he
was of business investments. He established a substantial racing
operation with Frank McMahon, and their stable's colours were a
familiar sight in North America and Europe.
Mr.
Bell's other involvements in sports included part ownership for
a number of years of the Vancouver Canucks Hockey Team and the creation
of Hockey Canada of which he was the first Chairman. He was also
keenly interested in ranching, and was a partner in Alberta Ranches
and Golden West Farms.
The
vision and spirit manifest in Max Bell's business and sports enterprises
also pervaded his myriad philanthropic activities. Dedicated to
the education of young people, he contributed generously to various
boys' camps and provided countless university scholarships anonymously.
A student
of the Bible and an active member of Grace Presbyterian Church in
Calgary, Max Bell led the Canada-wide institution of synods which
facilitated the expansion of the Presbyterian Church in the late
fifties and sixties. He had an abiding faith in God from which he
continually drew his strength and to which he gave his thanks. He
gave generously to the needy through the Salvation Army and supported
Msgr. Athol Murray's Notre Dame College in Wilcox, Saskatchewan
many, many times.
A fiercely
loyal man, Max Bell possessed quiet courage and tenacity, attributes
which served him well in his many undertakings. His dry wit and
command of the English language made him a popular after-dinner
speaker and his remarks were enlivened by an ability to tell amusing
stories in almost any dialect. Mr. Bell was often quoted as saying,
"The only time money is important is when you haven't any.
Once you have it, however, you must accept the responsibility to
make the best use of it and to ensure that those who become dependent
on you for a livelihood are not injured by your transactions."
His legacy to this credo is the Max Bell Foundation, which he established
with the gift of a substantial portion of his estate - over $17
million in F.P. Publication shares - shortly before his tragic and
premature death on July 19, 1972 at the Montreal Neurological Institute.
Since
his death, the Foundation has authorized hundreds of grants totalling
more than $65 million to a wide range of organizations across Canada.
As stipulated by Max Bell, thirty percent of the amount awarded
each year is directed to McGill University, one half to the Faculty
of Medicine and the other half to the general purposes of the University.
On
the Occasion of Mr. Bell's passing, numerous Candians and organizations
paid tribute:
"He
was above all things a builder, and an imaginative and successful
one, with a vision that went far beyond his own private interest
and encompassed many good causes which he felt would help Canada.
He will be greatly missed." (The Rt. Honourable Lester Pearson,
former Prime Minister of Canada)
"A
business genius, he nevertheless made time to devote a portion
of his life to community and Canadian affairs. Canada has lost
a great citizen, and the West a loyal native son." (Mr. N.R.
Crump, former President of Canadian Pacific)
"His
beneficences were as generous and as wide as they were largely
unknown. He gave handsomely to the established institutions, to
his church, to universities, hospitals, to Hockey Canada."
(The Vancouver Sun)
Max
Bell's legacy of philanthropy lives on.
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