A respected philanthropist who left a lasting impact on Alberta’s capital is being remembered as a “giant in our community,” after he passed away in his native Scotland.
Those were the words used by University of Alberta president David Turpin in an online post Tuesday as he remembered the university’s Board Chair Emeritus and Chancellor Emeritus, Sandy Mactaggart, who has died at the age of 89.
Mactaggart, who ran the property development firm Maclab Enterprises, was a founding member of Edmonton’s Citadel Theatre in 1965 along with Joe Shoctor, Ralph B. MacMillan and James L. Martin. The four men bought the city’s old Salvation Army Citadel building and converted it into what is now the most formidable centre for theatre and improv in Alberta’s capital.
According to the Citadel Theatre, Mactaggart continued to be a dedicated patron and benefactor for the theatre in the decades after it opened, including providing support for programs to help Edmonton high school students gain access to Citadel performances and to theatre professionals.
“I can’t imagine the Citadel without the iconic MacLab theatre,” she added. “Thanks to his extraordinary generosity, thousands of Edmontonians have experienced the fun and excitement of a night at the theatre.”
Sol Rolingher, chair of the Citadel Theatre’s board of governors, says despite all of his important contributions, Mactaggart was very humble.
“He certainly didn’t look for accolades,” Rolingher said on Tuesday.
“He could have had so many more if he wanted them, if he sought them out. But he didn’t. He just did what was right, and what he did in fact by doing that is he empowered us to reach out like he did, and do the right things.”
Mactaggart was also a founder of the Edmonton Art Gallery, now known as the Alberta Art Gallery.
In addition to the arts, Mactaggart and his wife – writer Cécile Erickson – were also major supporters of educational institutions.
“The Mactaggarts’ gifts, combined with matching funds generated from government, equalled an unprecedented $100 million for the university,” reads a tribute article on the UAlberta News website.
“In addition to visionary philanthropic gifts that have enriched many areas of the university and enhanced the international reputation of the university, Sandy Mactaggart also gave us exceptional gifts of time, vision and expertise as a chancellor, board member and leader of several other key committees,” Turpin is quoted as saying in the article. “For nearly four decades, he has been one of the U of A’s greatest friends and supporters and we deeply mourn his loss.”
“He and Cécile gave so much of their wealth back to the community,” Mayor Don Iveson said Tuesday. “They’re one of the model families of philanthropists.
“It’s a great loss for the city. We’re very sad for the Mactaggarts.”
In 1928, Sandy Auld Mactaggart was born in Glasgow, Scotland. He came to Canada during the Second World War at the age of 11 and attended schools in Ontario and New England, eventually receiving his master of business administration degree from the Harvard Business School in 1952. Later that year, he came to Edmonton where he and the late Jean de La Bruyère would create Maclab Enterprises Ltd.
From 1983 to 1994, Mactaggart served on the University of Alberta Board of Governors and chaired its Real Estate Advisory Committee. He also spent four years as the university’s chancellor. Together with the province, he donated the 104-hectare Mactaggart Nature Sanctuary to the university and the City of Edmonton.
“When I was chancellor, the real question was, ‘How do you reattract the community to the university and how do you make the university believe that they’re only as strong as the community in which they can gain support?'” Mactaggart said in an interview uploaded to YouTube by the Alberta Order of Excellence in 2011.
The Mactaggarts were also enthusiastic art collectors. Over a decade ago, Sandy and Cécile donated their collection of Asian art to the University of Alberta. At the time, its estimated value was $37 million.
- Canadian man dies during Texas Ironman event. His widow wants answers as to why
- On the ‘frontline’: Toronto-area residents hiring security firms to fight auto theft
- Honda’s $15B Ontario EV plant marks ‘historic day,’ Trudeau says
- Canadians more likely to eat food past best-before date. What are the risks?
Mactaggart also served as an Honorary Lieutenent Colonel and then Honorary Colonel with the Loyal Edmonton Regiment from 1998 until 2009.
“His connection he had with the military really was that he trained in Calgary to be a naval air reservist,” Capt. Brougham Deegan, of the Loyal Edmonton Regiment, said on Tuesday. “He was actually qualified to land on HMCS Bonaventure. So that was a pretty neat connection. When we approached him as a regiment, about being an honorary colonel, he was delighted to do it.
In 2010, Mactaggart and his wife moved to the Bahamas but not before donating their Ramsay Heights estate to the University of Alberta.
Mactaggart was appointed to the Order of Canada in 1997 and later to the Alberta Order of Excellence in 1998.
Watch below: An interview with Sandy MacTaggart uploaded to YouTube by the Alberta Order of Excellence in 2011.
Mactaggart spoke of his fondness for the city of Edmonton in a 2015 interview for the Citadel Theatre archives.
“You could get involved in everything,” the philanthropist said. “You could build things into something that was better. And we were risk takers.”
-With files from 630 CHED’s Eileen Bell
View photos of Sandy Mactaggart below:
Comments