Lawyer, business executive.
Born at Winnipeg on 27 December 1913, eldest son of John David Sinclair (1879-1955) and Lillian Matheson (1878-1958), he was educated at Daniel McIntyre Collegiate and the University of Manitoba, receiving economics (1937) and law (1941) degrees from the latter. He articled with the law firm of Guy, Chappell and Company, was called to the Manitoba Bar in September 1941, then joined the law department of the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1942.
In 1946, he was transferred to Montreal and eventually rose to the position of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, serving during the 1970s and 1980, where he was known as a “domineering manager and a fierce negotiator.” He was made a Manitoba Queen’s Counsel in 1960. He was succeeded in the position by Frederick Stewart Burbidge. In 1983, he was appointed as a Liberal to the Canadian Senate and served as Chairman of its Committee on Banking Trade and Commerce. In recognition of his business prowess, he was inducted into the Order of Canada (1979) and the Canadian Business Hall of Fame (1985).
On 17 July 1942, he married Ruth Beatrice Drennan (1914-1994) at St. Stephen’s-Broadway United Church.
He died at Oakville, Ontario on 7 April 2006.
Birth registration [Ian David Sinclair], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
1921 Canada census, Ancestry.
“Two Manitobans are called to Bar,” Winnipeg Free Press, 19 September 1941, page 7.
Marriage registration [Ian David Sinclair, Ruth Beatrice Drennan], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
“Ruth Beatrice Drennan weds Ian David Sinclair,” Winnipeg Tribune, 18 July 1942, page 11.
Obituary [John David Sinclair], Winnipeg Tribune, 21 May 1955, page 34.
Obituary [Lillian Sinclair], Winnipeg Free Press, 27 January 1958, page 25.
“Ten Manitobans on honors list,” Winnipeg Free Press, 31 December 1960, page 1.
“Gruff CP exec had ‘immense vision’,” Winnipeg Free Press, 11 April 2006, page 20.
Ruth Beatrice Sinclair, FindAGrave.
We thank James Arnett and Rick Mutton for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 1 July 2025
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