Memorable Manitobans: Douglas Gordon “Doug” MacIver (1953-2012)

Football player, automobile dealer.

Born at Winnipeg on 20 February 1953 to Beatrice Mary Butchart (1925-2012) and Alexander John “Jack” MacIver, he attended Windsor Park Collegiate and the University of Manitoba, where he took a double major in Philosophy and Psychology (1972-1976).

His football career began in Winnipeg with the St. Vital Mustangs and the University of Manitoba Bisons. He went on to play for nine years in the Canadian Football League, starting with the Toronto Argonauts (three years) and then three years with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. He then returned to Manitoba in 1982 to play his last three seasons with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, and retired after their Grey Cup victory in November of 1984. In 2012, he was inducted into the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame as a member of the Bombers team.

Beginning in the late 1970s, he also developed a business career working for his father at Winnipeg’s Midway Chrysler. His ambition in the automobile business landed him in Toronto, where he would soon purchase and manage two successful dealerships of his own: Willowdale Dodge and York Volkswagon. By the 1990s, he had become the largest Chrysler dealer in the country by volume of vehicles.

In 2003, he moved back to Winnipeg to help oversee his father’s dealership until the sale of the company in 2007. After that, he founded the Winnipeg-based company Ride Time (formerly CanadaWide Vehicle Finance Limited), opening two locations in four years.

Outside of carrying on business, he was also involved with numerous charities, including Athletes In Action, Winnipeg Rotary Club, Winnipeg Police Association, and North American/Scandinavian Exchange Program. At the same time, he enjoyed coaching amateur football for the Winnipeg Rods. A world traveler, he had visited every continent except the Antarctic.

In 1979, he married Evelyn Robinson, with whom he had three children.

He died at Winnipeg on 26 January 2012.

Sources:

Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 30 January 2012.

Mackay/Jefferson Family Tree, Ancestry.

This page was prepared by Lois Braun.

Page revised: 3 June 2026

Memorable Manitobans

Memorable Manitobans

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