JR Shaw (born James Robert Shaw, August 14, 1934 – March 23, 2020) was a Canadian businessman. He founded

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

-based

Shaw Communications Shaw Communications Inc. was a Telecommunications in Canada, Canadian telecommunication, telecommunications company which provided telephone, Internet, television, and mobile services. The company was founded in 1966 as Capital Cable Televisio ...

in 1966 and was the executive chairman of the company. As of 2016, Shaw and other members of his family controlled 85 percent of the Class A voting shares of

Corus Entertainment Corus Entertainment Inc. (often simply known as Corus) is a Canadian mass media and television production company. The company was founded in 1987 as Shaw Radio Ltd. as a subsidiary of Shaw Communications and was spun-off from Shaw in 1999. It h ...

, and 80 per cent of the class A voting shares of

. Shaw sat on the board of directors of

Suncor Energy Suncor Energy Inc. () is a Canada, Canadian integrated energy company based in Calgary, Alberta. It specializes in production of synthetic crude from oil sands. In the 2020 Forbes Global 2000, Suncor Energy was ranked as the 48th-largest public ...

from 2001 to 2007. The School of Business at NAIT is named after him.

Early years

Shaw was born in 1934 in Brigden, Ontario, the son of Lottie and Francis Shaw, and was raised on his family's farm with his siblings, Les, Bertha and Dolly. The Shaw business dynasty originated in rural

Lambton County Lambton County is a county in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. It is bordered on the north by Lake Huron, which is drained by the St. Clair River, the county's western border and part of the Canada-United States border. To the south is Lake Saint Cla ...

with Francis Shaw, originally from Kimball, who served in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Francis inherited the family farm, and his brother Joel inherited the grist mill. Lottie Shaw ran the farm, while Francis, an entrepreneur, slowly built a construction company that became a "major contractor involved in Camp Ipperwash" during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Francis Shaw expanded his businesses into "ready-mix concrete, drive-in theatres, cable television", and a "pipe coating" company—and was an innovator in Ontario.

Education

After Shaw earned his

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

business administration Business administration is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. Overview The administration of a business includes the performance o ...

from

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

, he worked for a while at his father's pipe coating company, Shawcor.

From Ontario to Alberta

Shaw moved to

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

in 1961. He was the father of Jim Shaw, who was the

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

until his retirement in 2011, and Bradley S. Shaw, the former CEO of

. Shaw Communications has since merged with

Rogers Communications Rogers Communications Inc. is a Canadian communications and media company operating primarily in the fields of wireless communications, cable television, telephony and Internet, with significant additional telecommunications and mass media ass ...

as of March 31, 2023. In 2002, Shaw legally changed his name from James Robert Shaw to JR Shaw. The article in The Canadian Encyclopedia is identical to Hunter's May 4, 1998 ''

Maclean's ''Maclean's'' is a Canadian magazine founded in 1905 which reports on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, trends and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian ...

'' article. He died on March 23, 2020, at the age of 85.

Honours

According to the ''History of Canadian Broadcasting'', in "recognition of his excellence in business and outstanding community involvement", Shaw was made an Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

in 2002. He received the Alberta Order of Excellence in 2008. Shaw received several honorary degrees, including ones from the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta (also known as U of A or UAlberta, ) is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta, and Henry Marshall Tory, t ...

University of Calgary {{Infobox university , name = University of Calgary , image = University of Calgary coat of arms without motto scroll.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms , former ...

, and Graceland University in Lamoni, Iowa.

References

1934 births 2020 deaths Canadian telecommunications industry businesspeople Canadian chairpersons of corporations Canadian chief executives Canadian mass media owners Members of the Alberta Order of Excellence Michigan State University alumni Officers of the Order of Canada People from Lambton County {{Canada-business-bio-stub, Shaw, JR