Patrick Burns (businessman)

Infobox CanadianSenator
name = Hon. Patrick Burns


image_size = 200px
caption = Pat Burns in 1927
birth_date = July 5, 1856
birth_place = Oshawa, Ontario
death_date = February 24, 1937 (aged 80)
death_place = Calgary, Alberta
education =
occupation = Rancher
Businessman
Meat Packer
Philanthropist
spouse = Eileen Ellis
parents = Michael and Bridget Byrne
children = Patrick Michael
religion = Roman Catholic
party = Independent
office = Canadian Senator
from Alberta
term_start =July 6, 1931
term_end =June 1, 1936

Patrick Burns (6 July 1856 – 24 February 1937) 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 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' convert|700000|acre|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.

Early years

Born in Oshawa, 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. [http://www.burnsfund.com/history.pdf Our History] . "BurnsFund.com". Accessed 2008-04-15.] 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. [http://www.bowvalleyranche.com/pioneers.html#burns Pioneers] . "Bow Valley Ranche". Accessed 2008-04-15.] 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 alterative. 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 staret out by steamer but when they reached Rat Portage (Kenora) 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 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.cite book |last=Downs |first=Art |title=Paddlewheels on the Frontier Volume 1|year=1971|publisher=Foremost Publishing|isbn=0888260334|pages=pp. 56-57,72] 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. cite web|url=http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0001118 |title=Patrick Burns|publisher=The Canadian Encyclopedia|accessdate=2008-04-15]

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. [Simon Evans. The Bar U]

Alberta

Pat Burns moved to Calgary, Alberta in 1890, where he established his first substantial slaughterhouse. [http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1SEC877124 Meat-processing industry: specialization] . "TheCanadianEncyclopedia". Accessed 2008-04-15.] 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.

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, as it came to be know, was designed by Pat's friend Francis Rattenbury in 1901. [ [http://calgarypubliclibrary.com/calgary/historic_tours/corner/pbm.htm Cornerstones: Patrick Burns (Manor House)] . "Calgary Public Library". Accessed 2008-04-15.] 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." [ [http://www.rmbooks.com/Peakfinder/peakfinder.asp?Peakname=Mount+Burns Peaks of the Canadian Rockies ] ] 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.Grant Macewan. "Pat Burns: Cattle King"] 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 was 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.

British Columbia

Throughout the early 1900s to 1914 he would be the principle 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. [ [http://www.uhaul.com/supergraphics/provinces/british_columbia/bog/index2.html U-Haul SuperGraphics - Burns Bog British Columbia ] ] 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. [ [http://www.vancouverhistory.ca/chronology5.htm The History of Metropolitan Vancouver - Chronology 1906 - 1908 ] ] 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. [ [http://www.vancouverhistory.ca/chronology5.htm The History of Metropolitan Vancouver - Chronology 1906 - 1908 ] ]

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. [ [http://www.historicplaces.ca/visit-visite/affichage-display.aspx?id=8618&page=1 HistoricPlaces.ca - Listing - 18 West Hastings Street ] ]

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 last century. [ [http://www.city.vancouver.bc.ca/ctyclerk/cclerk/20060418/documents/ph5complete.pdf Heritage Revitalization Agreement and Interior Designation for 736 Granville Street 2005-12-06 ] ]

The Blakeburn coalmine, near Princeton, and Coalmont was another of Burns' ventures.

Bow Valley Ranch

The Bow Valley Farm became the functional headquarters of his cattle empire. Burns purchased the Ranche in 1902 from William Roper Hull. [http://www.bowvalleyranche.com/bvrstory.html Site History] . "Bow Valley Ranche". Accessed 2008-04-15.] Burns also acquired adjacent sections of land, as they became available. Eventually the Burns Ranch at Bow Valley included some convert|20000|acre|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 in 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 [http://www.crmr.com/theranche/ 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.

Later years

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.Arthur J.E. Child (October 15 1970). [http://www.empireclubfoundation.com/details.asp?FT=yes&SpeechID=808 Man in Management] . "Empire club Foundation". Accessed 2008-04-15.]

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. [ [http://www.cd.gov.ab.ca/enjoying_alberta/parks/featured/fishcreek/pdf/Burns%20Family%20Aug%202006.pdf Fish Creek Provincial Park - Alberta Tourism, Parks, Recreation and Culture ] ] At the height of his empire his assets included nearly convert|700000|acre|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 passed away in 1925. [ [http://www.pc.gc.ca/lhn-nhs/ab/baru/natcul/index_E.asp Parks Canada - Bar U Ranch National Historic Site of Canada - Natural Wonders & Cultural Treasures ] ] 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.

Philanthropy

Senator Pat was known as a man of few words but great generosity. There are many stories of hisreadiness to help those in need. When a huge rock slide devastated the community of Frank, Alberta in 1903, Pat Burns was among the first to send aid. Five years later, when fire sweptthrough 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.Juliette Champagne (September 5 2005). [http://www.wcr.ab.ca/news/2005/0905/burns090505.shtml Burns made his mark in business, charity] . "Western Catholic Reporter". Accessed 2008-04-15.] 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. [The Role of Patrick Burns in the Development of Western Canada. Albert Preferick Sproule.]

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.

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 Calgary
* Widows and orphans of members of the fire brigade of Calgary
* 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 [http://www.burnsfund.com/| Burns Memorial Fund] .

Legacy

Patrick Burns was one of the major forces 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 Block, Calgary
* Burns Block, Nelson
* Burns Block, Vancouver
* Burns Building, Calgary [ [http://www.calgarypubliclibrary.com/calgary/historic_tours/corner/burns.htm Cornerstones:Burns Building] . "Calgary Public Library". Accessed 2008-04-15.]
* Burns Stadium (former home of the Calgary Cannons), Calgary, [ [http://www.digitalballparks.com/PacificCoast/Calgary.html Foothill (Burns) Stadium ] ]
* Senator Patrick Burns Building at SAIT Polytechnic, Calgary [ [http://www.sait.ab.ca/pages/about/campuses/maincampus/index.shtml#burns SAIT.ca - Main Campus ] ]
* Senator Patrick Burns School, Calgary [ [http://www.cbe.ab.ca/Schools/view.asp?id=129 Calgary Board of Education - Schools and Areas ] ]

Land

* Burns Bog, Delta, British Columbia [ [http://www.discovervancouver.com/gvb/burns-bog.asp Burns Bog ] ]
* Mount Burns, Alberta [ [http://www.rmbooks.com/Peakfinder/peakfinder.asp?Peakname=Mount+Burns Peaks of the Canadian Rockies ] ]

Neighbourhoods

* Burnsland, Southeast Calgary
* Burns Industrial Park, Calgary
* Burnsland Cemetery, Calgary [ [http://content.calgary.ca/CCA/City+Living/Communities/Facilities+and+Programs/Cemeteries/Burnsland+Cemetery.htm Burnsland Cemetery] ]

Parks

* Senator Patrick Burns Memorial Rock Garden, Calgary [ [http://www.calgary.ca/DocGallery/BU/planning/pdf/calgary_mount_royal_garden_part1.pdf A Garden Suburb ] ]

Roads

* Burnsland Road, Calgary
* Burns Ranch Road, Olds
* Burns Road, Winnipeg
* Patrick Street, Winnipeg

ee also

*Burns Manor
*Calgary Stampede

References

External links

* [http://calgarypubliclibrary.com/calgary/historic_tours/corner/pbm.htm Patrick Burns biograhy and description of the Patrick Burns' Manor House]
* [http://www.parl.gc.ca/information/about/people/key/bio.asp?lang=E&query=2291&s=M Synopsis of federal political experience from the Library of Parliament]
* [http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0001118 Patrick Burns] at The Canadian Encyclopedia
* [http://www.burnsfund.com/ Burns Memorial Fund]
* [http://www.crmr.com/theranche/ The Ranche Restaurant at the Bow Valley Ranche]