Wallace McCain

G. Wallace F. McCain, CC ONB (April 9, 1930 – May 13, 2011) was a Canadian businessman, co-founder of McCain Foods Limited. With an estimated net worth of $US 3.55 billion (as of November 2015), McCain was ranked by Forbes as the 13th wealthiest Canadian and 512th in the world.

Born in Florenceville, New Brunswick to the owner of a seed potato exporting business, he received a Bachelor of Arts from Mount Allison University in 1951.

He was married to Margaret McCain, the first female Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick.

Later years

In 2007 he gave a record $873,000 to his alma mater, Mount Allison University and on February 21, 2011 he donated $5,000,000 to the University of New Brunswick, Saint John campus for the Wallace McCain Institute, a program for business students and entrepreneurs.

McCain died on May 13, 2011 of pancreatic cancer. He was 81. He was residing in Toronto, Ontario at the time of his death.

McCain co-founded McCain Foods Limited in 1956 with his brother Harrison McCain, building it into one of the world's largest frozen food companies. In the 1990s a prolonged legal dispute between Harrison and Wallace over succession to the company leadership ended with the departure of Wallace's sons Michael and Scott McCain from McCain Foods. Father and son moved to Maple Leaf Foods.

Wallace and Harrison were estranged after the fallout from their McCain Foods dispute. In 2004 there was rapprochement between the brothers when Wallace visited Harrison who was sick in the hospital. Wallace has also been a confidante to McCain Foods' non-family executives who now run the firm. [1]

After being ousted from McCain Foods, McCain teamed up with the Ontario Teacher's Pension Plan to buy Maple Leaf Foods in 1995. He previously served as the chairman of the board for the company, and his son Michael is currently president and CEO.[2]

In 1995, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada for being "one of Atlantic Canada's most notable entrepreneurs" and was promoted to Companion in 2008. In 1993, he was inducted into Canadian Business Hall of Fame and the New Brunswick Business Hall of Fame in 1997. In 2003, he was awarded the Order of New Brunswick.

He has received honorary degrees from Mount Allison University, the University of King's College, the University of New Brunswick, the University of Toronto and St. Francis Xavier University.