A Business Point of View

An Unusually Ambitious Entrepreneur

Atlantic Canada suffers from a general lack of truly ambitious entrepreneurs. The late Robert Irving was a usually ambitious entrepreneur. Robert, who was the Co-CEO of JD Irving , Limited, along with his brother Jim, recently died from cancer. Robert was a third-generation member of New Brunswick’s well-known Irving Family.

The Irving Family

The Irvings can trace their business origins back to 1882, when Roberts’s great grandfather, James Dergavel Irving (the namesake of today’s, JD Irving, Limited) started a sawmill and related businesses in Bouctouche, New Brunswick. His son and Robert’s and Jim’s grandfather, K.C. Irving famously expanded the business into automobiles, gasoline distribution and service stations and founded KC Irving Oil in 1924 (the Irving Oil name was incorporated in 2029). In 1960, Irving Oil began the operation of its refinery, the largest in Canada, with the capacity of producing more than 320,000 barrels of crude oil per day (50 million litres). Later K.C. transformed the company into a diversified conglomerate with interests in forestry and pulp & paper, transportation and trucking, newspapers and media. K.C.’s three sons (James, Arthur and Jack) continued the expansion of the family businesses.

After the death of K.C. in 1992, ownership and responsibilities of running the Irving Group of Companies was divided among his three sons, James K. Irving, Arther Irving and Jack(then deceased) Irving’s son John E. Irving. Arthur Irving had Irving Oil, James K. Irving took responsibility of JD Irving and John E. Irving took responsibility for Ocean Capital which included commercial real estate, radio broadcasting and construction subsidiaries. JK Irving’s sons, Jim and Robert became CO-CEOs of JD Irving in 1992 after working for many years with their father.

The three families continue to work together until 2010 when each of the three companies separated into independent family-controlled groups.

Intergenerational Ownership and Succession

Only about 30 percent of family businesses last to a second generation. About 10-15 percent survive to a third generation, while only 3-5 percent make it to a fourth generation. The Irvings are one of the very few who will be fourth generation owned, as Robert’s and Jim’s children are already in senior roles in the company. Moosehead Breweries, as a comparison, is now in its sixth generation of family ownership. The Sobeys are in transition to their fifth generation, and the lesser-known Joudrey family is entering its fifth generation of family ownership.

There are different types of family-owned businesses, one where a family member runs the business and one where outside the family professional managers run the business. Irving Oil is now managed by an CEO from outside the family as is Sobeys. Moosehead continues to be managed by a family member. One of the main struggles of a multi-generational business is continuing the drive of the previous generation to grow the business. In the case of Jim and Robert Irving, it had nothing to do with money and everything to do with being true entrepreneurs, motivated by the challenge of continuing to build and modernize their family businesses. Their success has been shaped by the values and ethics instilled into them by their father.

JD Irving, Limted

JD Irving is the largest private sector employer in Atlantic Canada with more than 20,000 employees across Canada and the United States. It is the largest landowner in both New Brunswick and the State of Maine. Irving Pulp and Paper is the largest mill in the region and is currently undergoing a $2 billion upgrade. JDI owns trucking transportation companies (Midland, Sunbury and RST), marine shipping (Kent Line), railways (Eastern Maine Railway, New Brunswick Southern Railway), shipbuilding and marine services (Halifax Shipyards and Atlantic Towing), consumer products (Irving Tissue Products), forestry and forestry products (Irving Forest Products and Irving Pulp & Paper)), retail and distribution (Kent Building Centre and Kent Homes), food and agriculture (Cavendish Farms, Cavendish Ari Services and Indian River Farms). The company has two head offices, one in Saint John that is run by Jim and one in Moncton that was run by Robert. His son RJ has now assumed his father’s role. The two brothers by all accounts had a highly productive and close working relationship. Although they divided responsibilities for each of the companies under the JDI brand, they collaborate on most major investment decisions.

Robert the Entrepreneur

I had the opportunity to work directly with Robert (and his brother Jim) over nearly three decades as my former company , Corporate Research Associates, Inc, (now Narrative Research) provided public opinion and market research support for many of their businesses. Both brothers understood the value of knowledge of better understanding public opinion, their employees and their customers in making sound business decisions. Over the years, I have the benefit of seeing Robert’s insatiable desire to expand and grow the businesses that he had responsibility for. In a December 2024 Insights Podcast, he surprised me by publicly stating Cavendish Farms had more than 40 percent of the French fry market in Canada, rivalling McCains’ share. I had always assumed that McCain’s had the dominant market share in Canada.

When he moved to Moncton to work for the company in 1977 after graduating from university, becoming Co-CEO of JDI in 1992, there were only a few hundred employees in the Moncton area. By 2026, there were more than 2,000 employees in Moncton alone and thousands more working the companies Robert managed elsewhere. He grew Midland Transport from a small regional company to a national trucking company with 2,500 employees and nearly 4,000 pieces of equipment. He significantly expanded Irving Tissue the maker of Majesta, Royale and Scottie paper products, with more than 3,000 employees Irving Tissue opened a new manufacturing facility in Moncton in 1990 and a new $500 million manufacturing facility in Georgia in 2019 that included another $600 million expansion in 2024. Irving Tissue is now the second largest supplier of toilet paper in Canada.

Robert was nothing if not driven. I knew and admired his father. His father was driven and active in the business into his nineties. That drive and ambition simply runs in the family. Robert was always seeking ways to grow his businesses. There was never a meeting we had together that he wasn’t interested in my opinions about the political and economic situation in the region. He would always conclude our meetings by saying, “we gotta keep it going”.

In addition to his entrepreneurial drive, he was an exceptional community builder. He founded the Moncton Wildcats in 1995 and rarely missed a home game. The team won three league championships under his leadership. The team helped bring the community together. He led many fundraising campaigns in the community and economic development initiatives and was active as a philanthropist.

A Final Word

The importance of a Robert Irving to a community, a province and a region cannot be understated. He was a rare individual who continued to have ambition to grow both his businesses and his community. He was a humble, generous person and one of the most interesting businesspeople I have ever met and worked with in my life. I am sure he would have no regrets about his life because he loved what he did everyday.