Building contractor, curler.
Born at Mission City, British Columbia on 19 August 1922 to Hide Yamada and Shunosuke Suzuki, he spent his childhood moving to various locations in the Fraser Valley as his parents found work. Their last home in BC was at Strawberry Hill (present-day Surrey). In 1942, as a result of the United States declaring war on Japan, after Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbour, the Suzukis were one of many Japanese-Canadian families in BC forced to relinquish their property and being deported out of the province. The Suzukis were relocated to Dominion City to work in sugar beet fields. In 1948, they settled in Winnipeg. On 30 June 1956, Toru married Ryoko Nakamura (1930-2010) in Tokyo, Japan. They made their home in Winnipeg and then went on to have three children.
Along with his two brothers, Jun Suzuki and Kaoru Suzuki, his employment was in the housing construction industry. Eventually the three of them established their own business, Suzuki Brothers. As a developing firm, they took on the early post-war project of building the Manitoba Buddhist Temple (39 Tecumseh Street, circa 1950), which became an important centre of Japanese-Canadian cultural activity. They built their own home in East Kildonan, digging out the foundation by hand and using reclaimed wood from a construction site at Seven Sisters Falls. As the business grew, Toru and his brothers specialized in high-quality custom homes, sometimes with extensive details built into the carpentry. Their reputation for quality craftsmanship earned them work in neighbourhoods such as River Heights, Charleswood, Tuxedo, and St. James. Although it was a smaller firm, the employees were skilled and dedicated, and kept close social ties with the Suzuki brothers.
Besides being an integral part of the family business, Toru volunteered with the Optimist Club of Assiniboia, and loved participating in sports: baseball in his younger years, followed by bowling, golf, and curling. He was active at Breezy Bend Country Club, Bel Acres Golf and Country Club, and the Assiniboine Memorial Curling Club, which he helped to rebuild after the 1972 fire. He also curled at Valour Road Curling Club. As an accomplished curler, his skills were highlighted by three consecutive Canadian Senior Men's Championships in the 1980s, earning him induction into both the Manitoba Curling Hall of Fame (1994) and Canadian Curling Hall of Fame (2009).
He died at Winnipeg on 27 May 2012 and was buried in the Chapel Lawn Memorial Gardens.
See also:
Manitoba Business: Suzuki Brothers Construction Company
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 2 June 2012.
“Suzuki Brothers,” Japanese-Canadian Architects, Builders and Designers in Manitoba, Winnipeg Architecture Foundation.
This page was prepared by Lois Braun.
Page revised: 21 September 2026
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