T.R. Meighen Family Foundation: History

The T.R. Meighen Family Foundation is a private charitable foundation that was established by letters patent in April 1969 with a gift from the founder, Mr. Theodore Roosevelt Meighen. The head office is located in St. Andrews, New Brunswick and the administrative office located in Toronto, Ontario.

Over the past 37 years the foundation has granted over 15million dollars to various projects. Most of this support has been directed to community based activities in the fields of education, health, social welfare, cultural and environmental conservation.

The foundation's aministrative office was moved from St. Andrews to Toronto in 1998. This has allowed the foundation to focus its' grantmaking not only in New Brunswick but also in Southern Ontario and the Montreal area.

Mr. Meighen was born in Portage La Prairie, Manitoba in 1905. He attended the Royal Military College in Kingston before reading Law at L'Université Laval in Quebec City. Subsequently he practiced law in Montreal and became a senior partner in the firm of McMaster Meighen. During World War II, he served in the Royal Canadian Artillery in England and Canada and retired with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He was very active in the Montreal community where he lived with his wife Margaret (Peggy). He worked as a volunteer in many organizations in the health and welfare fields.

He was the son of the Rt. Hon. Arthur Meighen, a former Prime Minister of Canada, and Jessie Isabel Meighen.

While Mr. Meighen lived primarily in Montreal, he also had a house in St. Andrews, New Brunswick. He chose St.Andrews as the site of foundation's head office because it was situated in New Brunswick which, in his view, offered opportunities for constructive giving.