Northern Ontario visionaries honoured with Order of Ontario.

• Author: Stewart, Nick
• Position: NEWS - Awards list

From health care to industrial disease, countless lives have been improved by four Northern Ontario luminaries whose decades of selfless work in philanthropy and business have earned the Order of Ontario.

At a ceremony held at Queen's Park, the province honoured the tireless actions of Peter Crossgrove and Gerry Lougheed Jr., both of Sudbury, as well as Jean Gagnon of Sturgeon Falls and Fraser Dougall of Thunder Bay.

Born in Sudbury and raised in Copper Cliff, Crossgrove's long and storied career has found him at the head of major businesses in the region and across Canada, from owner of Pioneer Construction to CEO of Placer Dome.

While he's moved on from either position, he's still firmly entrenched in the mining industry, in which he first began as an underground worker and then purchasing agent at Inco Ltd.

"One thing I've learned is that if you're prepared to do things, people will find things for you to do," says Crossgrove, who owns a Sudbury home and property on Manitoulin Island.

These days, he serves as the president and CEO of Excellon Resources, which produces silver, lead and zinc from its properties in Mexico. He also sits on the boards of Barrick Gold, Lake Shore Gold and Pelangio Exploration, to name a few.

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Crossgrove was also one of the founders of Masonite International Inc., a Mississauga-based door manufacturing company which was sold to Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. in 2004 for $3.1 billion.

However, it's his philanthropic efforts that has given him the most satisfaction, having chaired the Toronto General Hospital's Generation Fund Campaign for $55 million, once the largest of its kind in Canada. He served in a similar role for the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre, which raised $45 million.

"It's something that was bred into me," says Crossgrove, who is also a member of the Order of Canada and a recipient of the Queen's Golden Jubilee medal.

"My parents were dedicated volunteers, and they taught me to always give something back."

As the inaugural chair of Cancer Care Ontario, Crossgrove crossed paths with another prominent Northerner, Gerry Lougheed Jr., who was also awarded the Order of Ontario this year.

Lougheed served for a time as the organization's vice-chair, and is widely known throughout the community for his endless efforts to establish and strengthen what he refers to as a "continuum of cancer care" in the northeast.

"My family has been able to enjoy certain blessings and I think it's...