K. C. Irving
Kenneth Colin Irving, commonly referred to as K. C. Irving, was a prominent Canadian businessman born on March 14, 1899, in Bouctouche, New Brunswick. He pursued his education at Dalhousie University and later Acadia University, where he joined the Canadian Officers Training Corps. Though he enlisted in the Royal Flying Corps during World War I, the war concluded before he could complete his pilot training. After the war, Irving established a successful career in the oil industry by founding Irving Oil in 1924, which expanded significantly and became known for its customer service. Alongside his oil business, he acquired J. D. Irving Limited after his father's passing, diversifying into lumber, transportation, shipbuilding, and media. Notably, he was instrumental in the forestry sector, holding a substantial amount of timberland in New Brunswick. Irving's contributions to business earned him recognition, including induction into the Canadian Business Hall of Fame. He married twice and had three sons, passing away on December 13, 1992, in Saint John, New Brunswick.
Subject Terms
K. C. Irving
Industrialist
- Born: March 14, 1899
- Birthplace: Bouctouche, New Brunswick
- Died: December 13, 1992
- Place of death: Saint John, New Brunswick
Contribution: K. C. Irving was a Canadian industrialist who became one of the wealthiest men in Canada. In 1990, he had an estimated net worth of $5 billion from business ventures in oil refining, timber, and media.
Early Life and Education
Kenneth Colin Irving was born in Bouctouche, New Brunswick, on March 14, 1899, to James Durgavel Irving and his second wife, Mary Elizabeth Gifford. Irving wanted to join the military at age sixteen, during World War I, but his father refused and sent him to Dalhousie University in Halifax instead. He joined the Canadian Officers Training Corps at Dalhousie, prompting his father to have him transferred to Acadia University in Nova Scotia.
Career
In 1918, Irving left Acadia for England, where he enlisted in the Royal Flying Corps. He became a second lieutenant and learned to pilot a modified Sopwith Camel from his cousin Leigh Stevenson. He did not serve as a pilot in the war, as it ended before he completed his training.
After the war, Irving went back to Bouctouche and took over a motor agency and gas station, which was run by Imperial Oil Limited. After breaking away from Imperial Oil in 1924, he established his own company, Irving Oil, and expanded his business into garages and service stations, quickly earning a reputation for excellent customer service. The company would grow to include hundreds of gas stations in Canada and New England, tankers, and a refinery in New Brunswick.
Irving moved to Saint John, New Brunswick, in 1931 when he was offered the Ford franchise there. In 1933, after his father died, he acquired the family lumber business, J. D. Irving Limited. Irving expanded the company with hundreds of private enterprises, including businesses in transportation, shipbuilding, and construction.
In 1938, Irving bought Canada Veneers, a supplier of aircraft veneers. He founded Irving Pulp and Paper Limited in 1951 and eventually held more than 25 percent of the timber in New Brunswick, about 3.4 million acres. He also became involved in media, acquiring four newspapers and two television stations in New Brunswick.
Irving left Canada in 1972 to retire, first to the Bahamas and then to Bermuda, leaving his three sons in charge of his various businesses. He was one of the first inductees into the Canadian Business Hall of Fame and was awarded the Distinguished Service Award from the Atlantic Canada Plus Association in 1991. In 1987, a theater was named after him at the John Flemming Forestry Centre.
Personal Life
Irving married Harriet MacNairn in 1927. They had three sons. Harriet died in 1976, and in 1978, Irving married his former secretary, Winnifred Jane Johnston. Irving died in Saint John on December 13, 1992, at the age of ninety-three.
Bibliography
DeMont, John. Citizens Irving: K. C. Irving and His Legacy. Toronto: McClelland, 1992. Print.
Frank, David. Provincial Solidarities: A History of the New Brunswick Federation of Labor. Edmonton: Athabasca UP, 2013. Print.
Laxer, James. The Acadians: In Search of a Homeland. New York: Random, 2010. Print.
Martin, Joe. Relentless Change: A Casebook for the Study of Canadian Business History. Toronto: U of Toronto P, 2009. Print.
Moody, Barry M. “Educating for War and Peace at Acadia University: The Great War Generation.” Cultures, Communities, and Conflict: Histories of Canadian Universities and War. Ed. Paul Stortz and Lisa Panayotidis. Toronto: U of Toronto P, 2012. 26–50. Print.