Honorary degree citation - E. Leo Kolber

By: Mohsen Anvari, June 1996

Mr. Chancellor, I have the honor to present to you the Honorable E. Leo Kolber, an esteemed businessman and philanthropist. Mr. Kolber was appointed to the Senate of Canada in 1983.

Montréalais de naissance, M. Kolber a fait ses études à l'Université McGill où il a obtenu un baccalauréat ès arts (1949) et un baccalauréat en droit civil (1952). Il est membre du barreau du Québec depuis 1952.

Jusqu'à 1993, M. Kolber a été président du conseil d'administration de Claridge Inc., société de gestion privée établie à Montréal. Également président de CEMP Investments, il a orienté cette aile de Claridge vers le développement immobilier au Canada, aux États-Unis et en Europe.

M. Kolber a fondé la Corporation Cadillac Fairview limitée, une des plus importantes sociétés de promotion immobilière du monde, et en a présidé le conseil d'administration jusqu'en 1987. C'est à cette société que l'on doit les prestigieux complexes comme le Toronto Dominion Centre, le Eaton Centre à Toronto, et le Pacific Centre à Vancouver.

Senator Kolber served on the federal government's Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce from 1984 to 1990, and again in 1994. He was also chairman of the National Revenue Committee of the Liberal Party of Canada. He is chairman and director of the Cineplex Odeon Corporation, and is currently a director of the Seagram Company Ltd., and the Toronto Dominion Bank. He has also served on numerous other boards, including E.I. duPont de Nemours and Company, MGM, and Supersol (Israel).

Senator Kolber is active in many community, social, cultural and philanthropic activities. In his community, he has served in a variety of senior leadership roles including work with the Combined Jewish Appeal and State of Israel Bonds. He and his wife, Sandra Kolber, have two children, Lynne and Jonathan, and two grandchildren, Olivia and Benjamin.

Mr. Chancellor, it is my privilege and a personal pleasure to present to you, on behalf of the Senate and by the authority of the Board of Governors, the Honorable Leo Kolber, so that you may confer on him the degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa.

*deceased