Patrick Burns (politician)

The Honourable Patrick Burns KStJ KCSG
Pat Burns, undated
Canadian Senator from Alberta
In office July 6, 1931 – June 1, 1936
Personal details
Born	Patrick O'Byrne (later changed) July 5, 1856 Oshawa, Ontario, Canada
Died	February 24, 1937 (aged 80) Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Nationality	Canadian
Political party	Independent
Spouse(s)	Eileen Ellis
Parents	Michael and Bridget O'Byrne
Occupation	Rancher businessman meat packer
Religion	Irish Catholic

Patrick Burns (July 6, 1856 – February 24, 1937) was a Canadian rancher, meat packer, businessperson, senator, and philanthropist. A self-made man of wealth, he built one of the world's largest integrated meat-packing empires, P. Burns & Co., becoming one of the wealthiest Canadians of his time. He is honoured as one of the Big Four western cattle kings who started the Calgary Stampede in Alberta in 1912. While making his fortune in the meat industry, ranching was his true passion. Burns' 700,000 acres (2,800 km²) of cattle ranches covered so vast an area of Southern Alberta that he could travel from Cochrane to the US border without ever leaving his land. In 1931, he was appointed to the Canadian Senate as a representative for Alberta. On October 16, 2008, the Calgary Herald named Burns as Alberta's Greatest Citizen.

Born in Oshawa, Ontario in 1856, Patrick was the fourth of eleven children of Michael and Bridget O'Byrne. Shortly after, the family moved to Kirkfield, Ontario where Pat would spend the majority of his childhood. His parents had emigrated from Ireland and, as part of the naturalization process, the family name was shortened to Byrne and then later to Burns. Pat had very little formal schooling but learned a great deal about hard work and thriftiness from his parents.

Pat spent his last summer in Kirkfield chopping wood for a neighbour. It had been his intent to save enough money to travel out west, however when it came time for him to collect his pay he discovered that his employer did not have enough cash to cover the $100 he was owed for his labour, and he was instead given two oxen as payment. These two oxen had a resale value of $70 but Pat saw an alternative. Instead he made $140 by slaughtering the animals and reselling their meat and by-products. The experience was one he would remember during his later days as an entrepreneur.