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

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

-based

Shaw Communications Shaw Communications Inc. is a Canadian telecommunications company which provides telephone, Internet, television, and mobile services. Headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Shaw provides home telecommunications services primarily in Alberta and Br ...

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 Common stock is a form of corporate equity ownership, a type of security. The terms voting share and ordinary share are also used frequently outside of the United States. They are known as equity shares or ordinary shares in the UK and other Comm ...

Corus Entertainment Corus Entertainment Inc. is a Canadian mass media company. Formed in 1999 as a spin-off from Shaw Communications, it has prominent holdings in the radio, publishing, and television industries. It is headquartered at Corus Quay in Toronto, Onta ...

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

. Shaw sat on the board of directors of

Suncor Energy Suncor Energy (french: Suncor Énergie) is a 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-lar ...

from 2001 to 2007.

Early years

Shaw was born in 1934 in

Brigden, Ontario Brigden is a community in the township of St. Clair, Lambton County, Ontario, Canada. The community is located at the crossroads of Courtright Line and Brigden Road, between Kimball to the west and Oil City to the east, and about southeast of ...

, 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 (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. 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 Military Camp Ipperwash (also Camp Ipperwash) is a former Canadian Forces training facility located in Lambton County, Ontario near Kettle Point. On April 14, 2016, it was returned to the Chippewas of Kettle and Stony Point First Nation. History ...

" during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. 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 Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

business administration Business administration, also known as business management, is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. From the point of view of management ...

from

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

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

Shawcor Shawcor Ltd is a Canadian oilfield services company, based in Toronto, Ontario, and listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. It specializes in providing services to the pipeline sector of the oil and gas market. It is one of the largest pipe-coating p ...

From Ontario to Alberta

Shaw moved to

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

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

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

until his retirement in 2011, and Bradley S. Shaw, the current CEO of Shaw Communications. 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'', founded in 1905, is a Canadian news magazine reporting on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian perspe ...

'' 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 (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

in 2002. He received the

Alberta Order of Excellence The Alberta Order of Excellence (french: Ordre d'excellence de l'Alberta) is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Alberta. Instituted in 1979 when Lieutenant Governor Frank C. Lynch-Staunton granted royal assent to the Alberta O ...

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,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Rutherfor ...

University of Calgary The University of Calgary (U of C or UCalgary) is a public research university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The University of Calgary started in 1944 as the Calgary branch of the University of Alberta, founded in 1908, prior to being ins ...

, and

Graceland University Graceland University is a private university with campuses in Lamoni, Iowa, and Independence, Missouri. The university offers degree completion and master's degree programs at satellite campuses in Centerville and Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Trento ...

Lamoni, Iowa Lamoni is a city in Decatur County, Iowa, United States. The population was 1,969 at the time of the 2020 Census. Lamoni is the home of Graceland University, affiliated with the Community of Christ, and the city was the church's headquarters from ...

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