ERIC HARVIE, Oil Entrepreneur, Philanthopist

Like Sir Samuel Steele, another Orillian almost better known in western Canada than here is the great philanthropist Eric Lafferty Harvie (1892 - 1975). In a recent article in the Calgary Herald, Michael Robinson, CEO of the Glenbow Museum writes, "Rarely does a day go by that I do not encounter some aspect of Eric Harvie's legacy" in the west.

Mr. Harvie, however much a westerner, had his formative years here in Orillia, as a relative of the clan in the 'Harvie Settlement' to the west of the city. He was the son of Cicely Lafferty and William McLeod Harvie, an area dentist who became the Sheriff of Simcoe County. Eric became a lawyer and moved west to practice.

Mr. Harvie enlisted in World War I, was wounded and returned to France as a Captain in the R.A.F. He was also made an Honorary Colonel of the Calgary Highlanders in 1950. In 1947, Harvie's quiet acquisitions of sub-surface mineral rights over the years started paying handsome royalties when the Leduc No.1 exploration well gushed oil, and he became one of Canada's wealthiest entrepreneurs.

Eventually, Eric Harvie's enthusiasm for collecting cultural artifacts of western Canada formed into the Harvie Foundation, which over the years has spent at least $100 million in support of many cultural institutions. His main effort was the founding of the Glenbow Museum - a museum, art gallery, archives and library all in one.

Harvie's other major philanthropic contributions through the Foundation were to the Banff School of Fine Arts, the Calgary Zoo and Heritage Park, and Confederation Square and Arts Complex in Charlottetown, P.E.I.