Lawyer, business executive.
Born at Amherst, Nova Scotia around 1934, eldest child of Reverend Harvey Leroy Denton and Evelyn Nellie Powell, after attending high school in Halifax, then Acadia University, and Dalhousie University, he was called to the Alberta Bar and worked as a corporate lawyer for Home Oil at Calgary.
In 1967, he moved to Winnipeg as corporate counsel and Vice-President of Genstar Homes Limited (the land development and housing subsidiary of BACM Industries) through at least the mid-1970s. He was a member of the Winnipeg Economic Development Board (c1977) and the first Publisher of the Winnipeg Sun (1980-1983). He was Executive Director of the Citizenship Council of Manitoba / International Centre of Winnipeg (1984-2000).
Around 1957, he married June Smith and they subsequently had five children. He was a director of the Marine Museum of Manitoba (c1977) and an elder in the Presbyterian church. He was Progressive Conservative candidate for the Selkirk constituency in the 1977 provincial election and the St. Boniface riding in the 1980 federal election.
In recognition of his service, he was inducted into the Order of Manitoba (2014) and Order of Canada (2019), and he received a City of Winnipeg Community Service Award (1989) and an honorary doctorate from the University of Winnipeg (2021).
He died at Winnipeg on 5 October 2026.
“Genstar Homes Limited,” Winnipeg Free Press, 8 October 1976, page 32.
“Selkirk,” Winnipeg Free Press, 4 October 1977, page 10.
“The Sun keeps on rising,” Winnipeg Free Press, 27 March 1981, page 58.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 17 October 2026.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 17 October 2026
Memorable Manitobans
This is a collection of noteworthy Manitobans from the past, compiled by the Manitoba Historical Society. We acknowledge that the collection contains both reputable and disreputable people. All are worth remembering as a lesson to future generations.
Search the collection by word or phrase, name, place, occupation or other text:
Custom SearchBrowse surnames beginning with:
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y | ZBrowse deaths occurring in:
1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026
Send corrections and additions to this page
to the Memorable Manitobans Administrator at biographies@mhs.mb.caCriteria for Memorable Manitobans | Suggest a Memorable Manitoban | Firsts | Acknowledgements
Help us keep
history alive!
