KC: The Biography of KC Irving

Graeme S. Mount is a history professor at Laurentian University and
author of Canada’s Enemies: Spies and Spying in the Peaceable Kingdom.

What sort of man would profit from New Brunswick as though it were his
feudal estate and then live in Bermuda to avoid taxes? Was K.C. Irving a
benefactor who created jobs in Saint John and other parts of his native
province, or did he exploit his workers, customers, and society? Douglas
How and Ralph Costello, both New Brunswickers, have answered these
questions on the basis of secondary sources, interviews, and their own
experiences with Irving. Since the book lacks footnotes, endnotes, or a
bibliography, the source of any specific piece of information is usually
difficult to identify. However, given the nature and power of the
subject and his family, the stronger the guarantees of secrecy, the more
forthcoming the source was likely to be.

The authors, both professional journalists who worked for Irving-owned
newspapers, have a breezy, anecdotal style. They portray a brilliant,
determined individual with a phenomenal memory. A workaholic with a
gentle exterior, Irving was secretive and self-righteous. Born in
Bouctouche, New Brunswick, he enlisted in the armed forces during World
War I over parental objections, but family loyalty kept him in New
Brunswick when he thought of migration to Australia. A taker of risks
that would have intimidated lesser mortals, Irving enjoyed one success
after another. In making himself rich, he created wealth for New
Brunswick, particularly the city of Saint John.

Irving claimed that New Brunswick’s Depression-era Conservative
government “pitchforked” him into politics as a Liberal when it
refused business to Irving companies because of the family’s Liberal
track record. The Liberals won the election of 1935 and then bought
Irving products.

Irving assumed that his employees ought to be work addicts like him,
and he could resent requests for breaks, even for family matters. Yet
Irving’s relations with labor unions won favorable reviews from union
leaders. In 1966, the young University of Moncton asked Irving for
$25,000; he pledged $500,000. Though he was a Presbyterian himself,
Irving’s relations with Acadians were excellent.

As an interim report on New Brunswick’s most formidable businessman,
this book is superb. Generations hence, a better documented, more
dispassionate biography may be possible.