The Rainmaker

In 2000, Coastal Contacts, founded by Roger Hardy, needed capital to fuel its growth. With Peter Brown at the helm, Canaccord raised $1 million, and a further $4 million in 2003. The next year, in a $6-million IPO, Canaccord took the company public. By 2012—now selling contact lenses, designer eyeglasses, and sunglasses—Coastal Contacts had surpassed […]

The Expo 86 Canoe

As part of the Expo 86 celebrations, the Haida artist Bill Reid was commissioned to carve an 80-foot canoe. When Reid decided he needed to carve a smaller prototype first, and with no room in the budget for the additional expense, Peter M. Brown, the vice-chairman, offered to pay for it himself. Today that 10-foot prototype […]

The Bell of St. Mary’s

St. Mary’s Anglican Church in the Kerrisdale area of Vancouver has played a central role in the life of the Brown family, which is why Peter M. Brown offered to add a new church bell. To this day the bell is rung after church services, and at weddings and funerals. “Family members have been christened there and married […]