Background
James Armstrong Richardson was born in Kingston, Ontario in 1885 to Agnes (McCausland) and George A. Richardson.
James Armstrong Richardson was born in Kingston, Ontario in 1885 to Agnes (McCausland) and George A. Richardson.
He attended Queen"s and received his Bachelor of Arts in 1906.
He lived most of his life in Winnipeg. Richardson became vice president of the company in 1912 and its president in 1919. In 1923, he moved the main office of the firm from Kingston to Winnipeg.
Richardson quickly rose to prominence in the grain business and was elected President of the Winnipeg Grain Exchange.
He was recognised as an astute businessman and sat on the Board of Directors of many Canadian companies, including the Canadian Pacific Railway, the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, International Nickel, the National Trust Company Limited, the Great West Life Assurance Company, and Canadian Vickers. Richardson"s greatest contributions came as a pioneer of Canadian commercial aviation.
He founded Western Canadian Airways in 1926 and helped open up the mineral mining development of the North with his air transport routes. The later company, Canadian Airways was instrumental in creating a transcontinental air system that was eventually incorporated into the fledgling Transport-Canada Air Lincolnshire (that became Air Canada).
The backroom deals in 1937 that cut Canadian Airways out of the transcontinental routes was said to have "broken his heart".
He died two years later. Richardson was the 6th Chancellor of Queen"s University, elected in 1929 and he served in this post until his death from a heart attack in 1939. In December 2006, the Winnipeg International Airport was renamed Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport in his honour.
Today, Richardson & Sons, Limited is a family-owned company that has expanded and developed into an international, multi-enterprise corporation.
The firm manages successful operations in agriculture and food processing through Richardson International, financial services through Richardson Financial Group, property management through Lombard Place Limited, and oil and gas exploration through Tundra Oil & Gas Limited. In 2009, Richardson Partners Financial merged with Good Manufacturing Practice Private Client to form Richardson Good Manufacturing Practice, a wealth management and investment services firm.