Robert Irving: Will we see his like again?

“He was a man, take him for all in all, I shall not look upon his like again.” William Shakespeare, Hamlet

In May 2024, Arthur Irving passed away and I was asked by the Globe & Mail to write an obituary. Not long after, James Kenneth (JK) Irving also passed on and again I had the opportunity to write in the G&M my thoughts on his life. Just two short years later, I am writing here about the passing of Robert Kenneth Irving, son of J.K. and grandson of K.C.

Most readers will know of Robert Irving. He built many successful businesses under the JD Irving, Ltd. umbrella from Cavendish to Midland Transport and was also a big part of the forest products side of the business as well. I don’t know the dollar amounts but he certainly deployed at least several billion dollars worth of capital across and employed several thousand workers. He was a huge philanthropist and cared deeply about the communities in which he had a stake.

I have been hearing variations on this Shakespeare quote a lot lately - “I shall not look upon his like again”.

I believe in the case of Robert Irving, this is likely the case.

But all successful entrepreneurs are shaped by the time they were in. Robert was able to build highly successful businesses through a relentless focus on customers, quality, cost management and talent development.

We will need more Robert Irvings if we want our province and region to succeed. They wont be the same, of course, but they will need passion, drive and ambition. They will want to build something grand that has the side effect of creating massive GDP and tax revenue to support public services.

It’s impossible to say just how much tax revenue was induced by all of the various businesses led by Robert Irving over the past 40-50 years. Several years ago I was hired to complete an economic impact review for all of JDI operations in Canada. That report concluded that JDI boosted tax revenue across Canada by more than $1.2 billion. Most of that tax revenue would have been induced by the company’s operations in Atlantic Canada. Robert would have been responsible for a large chunk of that $1.2 billion.

Sometimes we forget that our country relies on a large private sector economy that can induce enough tax revenue to fund a vast public sector and services including seniors pensions, health care, education, public infrastructure and now even more on defence and security. Government spends around $30,000 per person each year. That is a breathtaking amount if you stop to think about it.

So we honour Robert Irving’s contribution to communities. His philanthropy. His time. His love of the Wildcats.

But let’s also throw in the billions of dollars in tax revenue paid by his companies, employees, suppliers, etc. over his 40-50 year career.

My daughter recently took advantage of the Jean Elizabeth Saunders Irving Obstetrics and Newborn Care Unit at the Moncton Hospital (lovely little Margot is our second grand child). The Irving family may have contributed capital to support the establishment of this facility but it is also important to note that the hundreds of millions in tax dollars induced by the firm in New Brunswick every year is likely enough to cover nearly the entire budget of the Moncton Hospital.

RIP Robert Irving. May your legacy live on our region.