AIRD, Sir John
Visited the Bell Farm in 1882 - Sir John Aird (1855-1938) was born in Longueil, Quebec. He worked most of his life in the banking business, serving as Superintendent of Western Canadian Operations for the Bank of Commerce from 1908 until 1911, and then returned to Head Office in Toronto.
Earlier, in 1882, after four years of working for the Bank of Commerce, Aird was sent to the Bell Farm to help deal with certain as-yet-undetermined banking difficulties then facing the newly-established Qu'Appelle Valley Farming Company (also known as the Bell Farm) at Indian Head.
He was Knighted in 1917, and in 1928-29 he chaired the federal government's Aird Commission, the results of which ultimately led to the formation of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) in 1936.
SOURCES:
"Toronto Globe and Mail" Dec 1, 1938/ article "Life of Aird Was Full and Happy": "Authority on the West"
Photo: Sir John Aird - https://archive.org/stream/historyofcanadia02rossuoft#page/n9/mode/2up -
John Aird (1855-1938); Knighted in 1917 - http://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/people/aird_j.shtml
RESEARCH BY:
Michelle Cabana, Saskatoon, Sask.