Community bids farewell to entrepreneur and philanthropist Doug Smith

Over 700 attend Celebration of Life in Gore Bay

GORE BAY—Captains of industry from across the North gathered with former and current Manitoulin Transport employees, family and friends and benefactors of his generous support of the Island, to honour the late Doug Smith, founder of Manitoulin Transport and unarguably the Island’s most prolific philanthropist during a celebration of life held on Saturday, September 12 at Bayside Restaurant in Gore Bay.

An anticipated 700 people attended the event held on the shores of Gore Bay, packing the restaurant dining halls and an event tent set up outside.

“People have come from far and wide, a lot of people that worked for us at one time, and still work for us for many years,” said Manitoulin Transport vice-chair and Mr. Smith’s son Jeff Smith. “It is so good to see family—what do they say weddings and funerals, right?”

The guest book at the Celebration of Life for Doug Smith garnered hundreds of signatures.

Community bids farewell to entrepreneur and philanthropist Doug Smith

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Manitoulin Transport is very much a family-oriented company. “We have a lot of a lot of different families that have come here to support us,” he said. “So, it’s great, it’s great to see everybody together.”

“Wow, well, just wonderful to have this kind of a turnout,” said Gord Smith, Mr. Smith’s eldest son and CEO of the Manitoulin Group of Companies. “A lot of friends, family—my father touched a lot of lives indirectly and directly and I look forward to reconnecting with a lot of people. Thankfully the weather turned nice for us, and I want to thank everybody for being here. Especially the Gore Bay Fire Department for coming down and providing all the security services.”

“The family asked if we would assist and make sure that it was a safe environment,” said Gore Bay Fire Chief Mike Addison, “So we’re controlling traffic and I’ve got first responders on-site in case something happens, and we’re watching the exits. It’s the least we can do for the Smith family.”

The Watersedge Restaurant hosted the Celebration of Life for Doug Smith September 12.

The afternoon was filled with smiles and laughter under a pleasantly warm late summer sun, as the celebrants recalled their memories of Mr. Smith.

“I was unfortunate to only know Doug for a few years,” said former Expositor scribe and member of Mr. Smith’s jazz band, Warren Schlote. “But I could already get a sense of his massive legacy on this Island so making music with him was one of the great highlights of my life and I’m always going to be grateful for the memories that we shared.” Mr. Schlote wrote the initial announcement in The Expositor of his friend’s passing.

“Doug Smith was a really generous person and founded a company that’s worldwide and has always been helpful to communities on Manitoulin,” said Northeast Town Mayor Al MacNevin, “I’m just here to pay our respect for all the things he’s done for our communities.”

“My connection with Doug Smith is actually through his wife,” said Manitoulin Island Cycling Advocates’ Maja Mielonen. “She was a very good customer of mine for years and years and years. She came to me for the sweets that she needed for their boat. One of her favourites was apple cinnamon sugar cake. When I heard that that this was happening last night, I picked some apples from my tree. I just delivered it to her daughter-in-law and I’m hoping that they can take it on the boat.”

Jeff Smith gave a brief synopsis of the genesis of Manitoulin Transport, from a wholesale spinoff of the family grocery business, “there were too many brothers in the business,” he jokes, to the massive globe-spanning logistics company that we know today.

The late Mr. Smith was originally an accountant, who worked for the Bank of Montreal, beginning in the hometown Gore Bay branch before being transferred to Toronto and given the job of auditing individual bank branches, Jeff Smith explained. A surprise audit at one bank ended with the manager committing suicide and Mr. Smith was ready for a change.

“At the same time my grandfather was calling my dad because they were running a wholesale business,” he explained. “The original business kind of split off and my father said there were too many Smiths in the business with three brothers and their families too. So, my grandfather started the wholesale business supplying, at the time, all the general stores across the Island. My grandmother was a smart, smart lady. She got second in math in the standardized tests back in the 1920s. She taught business in the high school here in the 1950s when ladies did not teach.”

“My grandmother needed a target,” smiled Mr. Smith. “She needed somebody to keep in her sights at all times and worry about whether they were up too late or what they were doing. And with my father in Toronto, my grandma turned her sights on my grandfather.”

The Smith patriarch “called my father and said ‘you need to help me because your mother is driving me crazy,’ so, between the bank situation and my grandfather calling him he went to work here in the truck for the wholesale business.” From that point on he never looked back.

Mr. Smith’s early years were filled with music, hard work and adventure on Manitoulin, where he grew up playing instruments, racing boats and, eventually, working in the family wholesale business with a turn on the ice as a member of the late 1950s Gore Bay championship Senior Hockey team, a title thy held for two years.

Jeff Smith took a turn on stage with the band to play one of his father’s favourite Louis Armstrong tunes.

As his obituary noted, “few things brought Doug greater pride than the family business.” After his parents sold the wholesale business, Mr. Smith founded Manitoulin Transport in 1960. Under His leadership, the company grew from its very humble beginnings into one of Canada’s largest and most respected privately owned transportation companies. “Mr. Smith believed that success is built on dedication and hard work, and those principles shaped both the company and the legacy he leaves behind. Despite the company’s remarkable growth, Mr. Smith never lost sight of what mattered most: dedicated staff, loyal customers and strong partners who became part of the Manitoulin Transport family.”

As his business flourished, Mr. Smith devoted increasing time and energy to giving back to his community. “Beyond business, he was a tireless champion for Gore Bay, Manitoulin Island and Northern Ontario. He believed deeply in strengthening his community, supporting local initiatives and quietly helping people in need. His extraordinary generosity and lifelong commitment to philanthropy were recognized nationally when he was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada in 2008. Travelling to Ottawa to receive the honour was a proud moment, but those who knew Doug understood that the true reward for him was seeing his community thrive. He also received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, along with numerous other honours recognizing his outstanding leadership, generosity, and service.”

He was also the inaugural recipient, in 1990, of Gore Bay’s “Lifetime Achievement Award” along with Jack McQuarrie and, posthumously, MPP John Lane.

“A gifted natural musician, Mr. Smith knew nearly a thousand songs by ear and could play several instruments, although the clarinet remained his lifelong favourite,” notes his obituary. “Dixieland jazz was his passion. Mr. Smith began playing with the Gore Bay Orchestra in 1947 and continued performing for nearly eight decades, taking the stage just one week before his passing during the Harbour Days celebration in Gore Bay. Whether entertaining at community dances, local events or gatherings with friends, music brought him immense joy and created lifelong friendships.”

There is no community on Manitoulin Island that has not felt the generous hand of Mr. Smith, whether it is in helping the Manitoulin Health Centre, most often quietly and behind the scenes, sending a considerable sum to assist in saving the Mindemoya Old School building (a “secret” until now due to Mr. Smith wanting to honour the memory of the late Joanne Smith) and a list far too numerous to mention.

Jeff said that legacy of community support Manitoulin Transport is committed to continuing.

Doug is lovingly remembered by his sons Gord (Beth Marie) and Jeffrey (Jillian) his grandchildren Mariah, Samantha (Matt), Deanna, Emma and Brianna, his great grandchildren Anthony, Melina, Sophia and Romi and his very special friend and bandmate Nickie Hinds, who brought Mr. Smith tremendous joy in his later years. He will also be deeply missed by his extended family, countless friends, colleagues and all whose lives were enriched by knowing him.

Doug was predeceased by his parents Bill and Reta Smith his sister Josephine (Andy) Griffith, his infant granddaughter Elizabeth Smith and his wife Phyllis Smith.

In lieu of flowers, those wishing to honour Mr. Smith’s memory are invited to support organizations that strengthen communities and help people in need –

values that guided his life and reflected the generosity he showed every day.