John Bragg (businessman)

Last updated
John L. Bragg

Born (1940-05-03) May 3, 1940 (age 83)
Nationality Canadian

John Louis Bragg, CC ONS (born May 3, 1940) is a Canadian businessman and former Chancellor of Mount Allison University.

Contents

Early life and education

The Bragg family has called Nova Scotia home for 180 years. [1] John was born in Collingwood, Nova Scotia, he received a Bachelor of Commerce degree and a Bachelor of Education degree from Mount Allison University.

Career

He is the Chairman, President and Co-Chief Executive Officer of Oxford Frozen Foods Limited, a food manufacturer which he founded in 1968 and operates the largest fruit farm in the world, with over 12,000 acres (49 km2) of wild blueberries. [2] He also founded a cable television company in the 1970s which became known as Bragg Communications and was subsequently expanded to become EastLink.

Bragg built his first blueberry-processing factory in 1968, and the business is still experiencing double-digit growth today. In 2015, Bragg opened a new facility in Saint-Isidore, New Brunswick, that is considered to "the most modern blueberry processing facility in the world." It can process up to 1.5 million pounds of blueberries per day. [1]

Bragg had a net worth of $1.11 billion CDN in 2015. [3]

He was ranked No. 86 in Canadian Business's list of Canada's richest people in 2017. [4] [1]

Business involvement

He is or was a director of TD Bank Financial Group, Canada Bread Limited, Empire Company Limited and Sobeys Inc. [5]

Recognition

In 1996, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada and promoted to Companion in 2022. [6] [7] In 1994, he was awarded the National Entrepreneur of the Year Award by the Governor General of Canada Ray Hnatyshyn. [8] He was named to the Order of Nova Scotia in 2018. [9]

Bragg and his business empire were the subject of a lengthy interview/profile in The Globe and Mail , which observed that "Beneath the veneer of the rural blueberry baron, there is one tough, risk-taking tycoon with an ardour for growth, game-changing technology, and debt financing." [10]

He was promoted to Companion of the Order of Canada in 2022. [11]

Personal life

He and wife Judy have four children: Lee, Matthew, Carolyn and Patricia, all of whom have worked or now work in the business.

He lives in Collingwood, Nova Scotia. [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sackville, New Brunswick</span> Place in New Brunswick, Canada

Sackville is a former town in southeastern New Brunswick, Canada. It held town status prior to 2023 and is now part of the town of Tantramar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1879 in Canada</span> Canada-related events during the year of 1879

Events from the year 1879 in Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1864 in Canada</span>

Events from the year 1864 in Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1839 in Canada</span>

Events from the year 1839 in Canada.

Henry Davies Hicks was a lawyer, university administrator, and politician in Nova Scotia.

Harrison McCain was a Canadian businessman and co-founder, along with his three brothers, of international frozen foods giant McCain Foods.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oxford, Nova Scotia</span> Town in Nova Scotia, Canada

Oxford is a town in Cumberland County, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is 32 km (20 mi) east of Amherst. The town is directly serviced by Routes 104, 204, 301, and 321. Despite its small size and demographic, Oxford is the world's largest processor and distributor of individually quick frozen (IQF) wild blueberries.

Arthur Lee Irving, is a Canadian billionaire businessman, the second son of industrialist K.C. Irving of the Irving family. He is the sole owner, through the Arthur Irving Family Trust, of Irving Oil Ltd. As of June 2022, his net worth was estimated at US$4.2 billion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia</span> Representative in Nova Scotia of the Canadian monarch

The lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia is the viceregal representative in Nova Scotia of the Canadian monarch, King Charles III, who operates distinctly within the province but is also shared equally with the ten other jurisdictions of Canada, as well as the other Commonwealth realms and any subdivisions thereof, and resides predominantly in his oldest realm, the United Kingdom. The lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia is appointed in the same manner as the other provincial viceroys in Canada and is similarly tasked with carrying out most of the monarch's constitutional and ceremonial duties. The present, and 33rd lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia is Arthur Joseph LeBlanc, who has served in the role since 28 June 2017.

Donald H. Oliver is a Canadian lawyer, developer and politician. Appointed by former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, Oliver served in the Senate of Canada from 1990 until 2013. He was the first black male to sit in the Senate and the second black Canadian appointed to the chamber.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Order of Nova Scotia</span> Civilian honor for conspicuous achievements

The Order of Nova Scotia is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Instituted on August 2, 2001, when Lieutenant Governor Myra Freeman granted Royal Assent to the Order of Nova Scotia Act, the order is administered by the Governor-in-Council and is intended to honour current or former Nova Scotia residents for conspicuous achievements in any field, being thus described as the highest honour amongst all others conferred by the Nova Scotia Crown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastlink (company)</span> Canadian cable television and telecommunications company

Eastlink is the operating name of Bragg Communications Inc., a Canadian cable television and telecommunications company. The privately held company was founded in Nova Scotia in 1969 by the Bragg family, and has grown since through the amalgamation of several telecommunications companies.

Peter Cowperthwaite Godsoe, BSc, MBA, is a Canadian businessman and former President, Chairman and Chief executive officer of the Bank of Nova Scotia from 1992 to 2003. He is a member of the board of directors of multiple corporations, and serves as the Chairman of Fairmont Hotels and Resorts and Sobeys.

Alan Rockwell Abraham was the 27th Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia.

George Wallace Ferguson McCain was a Canadian businessman and co-founder of McCain Foods. With an estimated net worth of $US 4.15 billion, McCain was ranked by Forbes as the 13th wealthiest Canadian and 512th in the world.

John James Kinley was a Canadian engineer, industrialist and the 29th Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia since confederation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blueberry</span> Section of plants

Blueberries are a widely distributed and widespread group of perennial flowering plants with blue or purple berries. They are classified in the section Cyanococcus within the genus Vaccinium. Vaccinium also includes cranberries, bilberries, huckleberries and Madeira blueberries. Commercial blueberries—both wild (lowbush) and cultivated (highbush)—are all native to North America. The highbush varieties were introduced into Europe during the 1930s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Feridun Hamdullahpur</span> Canadian academic

Feridun Hamdullahpur is the chancellor of International Business University. Previously, he was the president and vice-chancellor of the University of Waterloo. Hamdullahpur was named the sixth president of the University of Waterloo in March 2011. Hamdullahpur's term ended on July 1, 2021, when his successor, Vivek Goel, took office.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John James Grant</span> Canadian general and Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia

John James "Jim" Grant is a Canadian politician and soldier who served as the 32nd Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agriculture in Nova Scotia</span>

Agriculture in Nova Scotia is the production of various food, feed, or fiber commodities to fulfill domestic and international human and animal sustenance needs. Nova Scotia is a province in Atlantic Canada totaling 55 284 km2 of land and water bordering New Brunswick. This province houses approximately 3795 farms averaging 262 acres per farm. The total land area used for farm lands in Nova Scotia is 995,943 acres.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Canada's Richest People: John Bragg". Canadian Business. December 24, 2015. Retrieved March 16, 2017.
  2. "About Oxford Frozen Foods". Archived from the original on 2006-03-22. Retrieved May 29, 2006.
  3. "Canada's Richest People 2015: The 100 Richest Canadians". www.canadianbusiness.com. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
  4. "Canada's Richest People: The Complete Top 100 Ranking (2017)". www.canadianbusiness.com. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
  5. "TD Bank Financial Group - Corporate Directors" . Retrieved May 29, 2006.
  6. Order of Canada citation
  7. "Order of Canada appointees – December 2022". Governor General of Canada. 29 December 2022. Archived from the original on 29 December 2022. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  8. "House of Commons Hansard". Archived from the original on April 21, 2005. Retrieved May 29, 2006.
  9. Mathieson, Dave (November 7, 2018). "Still going strong at age 78, Oxford Frozen Foods' John Bragg receives Order of Nova Scotia | SaltWire". Amherst News. Archived from the original on 2021-01-11. Retrieved 2021-01-11 via www.saltwire.com.
  10. "Blueberry and fibre optic tycoon John Bragg: The Oracle of Oxford, N.S." Toronto Globe and Mail. 30 November 2012. Retrieved 4 May 2017.
  11. 1 2 "Order of Canada appointees – December 2022". The Governor General of Canada. 29 December 2022. Retrieved 29 December 2022.