Norman McLeod Paterson

Norman McLeod Paterson, DCL, LLD, KGStJ (August 3, 1883 – August 10, 1983) was a Canadian businessman and politician.

Born in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, the son of Hugh Savigny Paterson and Ella Snider, he started working with the Manitoba Railway and Canal Company in 1897. He later worked for the Great Northern Railway of Canada as a telegrapher eventually becoming a purchasing agent[1]

In 1903, he started working with his father in the grain business and started a company, N.M Paterson and Company, in 1908. Later, he started the Paterson Steamships Limited company. The two companies later became N.M. Paterson and Sons Limited. It is still run by the Paterson family.[1]

According to the Manitoba marriage registration (1915-176082), Norman McLeod Paterson married Eleanor Margaret Macdonald in Winnipeg on June 2, 1915.

He was summoned to the Senate of Canada in 1940 representing the senatorial division of Milton, Ontario. A Liberal, he resigned in 1981 just before his 98th birthday. He was made a Knight of the Order of St. John in 1945.

From 1965-71, he was the first chancellor of Lakehead University. He also served on the Board of Directors of Carleton University in Ottawa.[1] The Norman Paterson School of International Affairs was established in 1965 at Carleton University with a grant of $400,000 from Senator Paterson.[2]

In 1970, he established a private charitable foundation, The Paterson Foundation, which provides grants to community organizations in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario.