Irving Kearl "Ike" Barber OC OBC (February 14, 1923 April 13, 2012) was a Canadian forest industrialist and philanthropist. Though originally from

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 ...

, Barber spent most of his life in

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, where he founded Slocan Forest Products Ltd., a

lumber Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...

-producing company. He then went on to use his resource-based fortune to become one of BC's most prominent education philanthropists. Barber made significant donations to the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

, as well as many other schools across the

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

, until his death in 2012.

Personal life and career

Barber was born in

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 ...

, Alberta in 1923, where he attended school until he dropped out in grade 11. He then travelled to the

Peace River Region The Peace River Country (or Peace Country; ) is an aspen parkland region centring on the Peace River in Canada. It extends from northwestern Alberta to the Rocky Mountains in northeastern British Columbia, where a certain portion of the region is ...

of British Columbia, where he worked as a parts man for Caterpillar Tractor in Fort St. John until the beginning of the

Second World War 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 ...

. 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 ...

, Barber spent five years in the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; ) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environmental commands within the unified Can ...

working as a flight instructor. After his war service, he was given

Department of Veterans Affairs The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing lifelong healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers an ...

credits from the

Government of Canada The Government of Canada (), formally His Majesty's Government (), is the body responsible for the federation, federal administration of Canada. The term ''Government of Canada'' refers specifically to the executive, which includes Minister of t ...

, entitling him to one free month of university education for every month served during the war. Though Barber had initially planned on becoming a forest ranger in British Columbia upon his return from war, he decided instead to use his credits to attend the University of British Columbia in 1945, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in forestry in 1950. Barber credited this "second chance at education" as a main reason for his future support of various education programs in BC. Barber qualified as a Professional Registered Forester in 1952, and went on to work in British Columbia's forestry industry for 57 years. Barber initially worked for MacMillan Bloedel and Triangle Pacific, but in 1978 he bought the Slocan sawmill and founded Slocan Forest Products Ltd. Barber spent the next 23 years building it into one of the most prominent lumber producers in North America before retiring as its chairman in 2002. Barber died at his home in Tsawwassen, British Columbia in 2012 at the age of 89.

Philanthropy

Barber was passionate about improving the quality of education and access to education for students of British Columbia, and donated millions of dollars to various schools and educational causes across the province. In 1999, Barber donated $500,000 to the

University of Northern British Columbia The University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) is a university serving the northern region of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The main campus is located in Prince George, with additional campuses located in Prince Rupert, Terrace, ...

in order to establish the I.K. Barber Enhanced Forest Laboratory. In 2001, Barber donated $2.5 million to the

in order to establish research programs at the university, such as the Irving K. Barber Diabetes Research Endowment Fund at UBC and the Ike Barber Human Islet Transplant Laboratory at Vancouver General Hospital in partnership with UBC. In 2002, Barber donated $20 million to the Vancouver campus of the

in order to update their main library and build the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre. In 2004, Barber donated $10 million to establish both the Irving K. Barber School of Arts and Sciences and the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre Interface Program at UBC's Okanagan campus. Also in 2004, the Irving K. Barber British Columbia Scholarship Society was established, and Barber assisted the society in funding the Barber Transfer Scholarship and the Aboriginal Student Award program. In 2010, Barber donated $2.5 million to

Kwantlen Polytechnic University Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) is a public undergraduate degree-granting polytechnic university in British Columbia, Canada, with campuses in Surrey, Richmond, Cloverdale, Whalley, and Langley. KPU is one of the largest institutions b ...

to establish the Irving K. Barber Endowment for Educational Opportunities. Also in 2010, Barber donated $1.5 million to

Thompson Rivers University Thompson Rivers University (commonly referred to as TRU) is a Public university, public research university located in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada. The university's name comes from the two rivers which converge in Kamloops, the North Thomp ...

for the Irving K. Barber British Columbia Centre. In 2012, Barber donated $250,000 to the

Justice Institute of British Columbia Justice Institute of British Columbia (JIBC) is a public, post-secondary educational institution in New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada, that is focused on training professionals in the justice, public safety and social services fields. JI ...

in order to establish a new Aboriginal Justice Worker Certificate.

Awards and honours

In 1993, Barber was inducted into the Canadian Business Hall of Fame. In 1996, he was awarded the Forest Excellence Award in Communications for his work in publishing the book ''The Working Forest of British Columbia''. In 1997, Barber was presented with the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award for the Pacific Region. In 1999, he was named the Distinguished Forester of the Year by the Registered Professional Foresters Association. In 2002, both the University of British Columbia and the University of Northern British Columbia conferred Honorary Doctorate of Law (LL.D) degrees to Barber. In 2003, Barber was recognized by the

Order of British Columbia The Order of British Columbia is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Instituted in 1989 by Lieutenant Governor David Lam, on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier Bill Vander Zalm, the order is administe ...

, and in 2004, he became an

Officer of the Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian national 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 centennial of Canadian Confederation, the ...

for both his contributions to the forestry industry and his philanthropic work. In 2012, the

conferred an Honorary Doctorate of Law (LL.D) degree to Barber. Barber also received the

Golden Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal () or the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal was a commemorative medal created in 2002 to mark the 50th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's accession in 1952. The Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal was ...

(2002) and the Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012) for his outstanding contributions to Canada.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barber, Irving K. 1923 births 2012 deaths 20th-century Canadian philanthropists Businesspeople from Edmonton 21st-century Canadian philanthropists Canadian World War II pilots Royal Canadian Air Force personnel of World War II