One of Canada’s most distinguished leaders in business and philanthropy, Jim is a member of the Investment Hall of Fame and was the recipient of the Queen Elizabeth lI Diamond Jubilee Medal.

Northern is proud to have him as an alumnus. Graduating from Northern in 1996, an honour student and gifted athlete, Jim attended Waterloo University, before moving west to start his career. In Calgary, Jim founded First Energy Capital Corp and led the merger of GMP Securities L.P. and FirstEnergy Capital Corp to form the largest independent investment bank in the Canadian energy sector.

Friendships Jim forged at Northern while on Red Knight football, hockey and rugby teams remained strong through the years. In 2020, in memory of fellow Red Knight Dave McClintock, who passed away in April, Jim made another generous contribution to the Jim W. Davidson Scholarship Fund.

Going forward, two university-bound Northern students – who have demonstrated integrity of character, respect for their peers and who possess the ability to lead others – will receive the Jim W. Davidson Award.

Thank you Jim !

Regardless of where your varied endeavors may take you next, you’ll forever be linked to Northern and to your fellow classmates. The prior graduating classes from Northern Secondary School have been confident, competent, and resilient – and the same is true of this class, the Class of 2020.

Through graduation, you attained the enviable position of getting to choose and pursue an honorable profession, be it an actor, bus driver, doctor, engineer, foreman, lawyer, musician, plumber, sales clerk, etc. Whatever professional vocation you chose, rest assured the formative and relevant skills you developed and honed at Northern have prepared you well.

The world needs you. We need your discerning, critical thinking. We need your strong, courageous and intelligent leadership. We need your undiscouraged persistence. We need your unyielding pursuit of what’s just and fair and right.

There is a forgivable temptation to evaluate your pending contributions to society through the lens of your to-be professional vocations. It is natural.

However, if we are to solve the current and prevailing challenges, it’s so very important, now more than ever, to excel in the common, civic vocations we all hold. Before and above all else, we are citizens in the communities we live and members of families, both large and small, which span generations. When inevitably confronted with consequential decisions, affecting both your communities and your families, make moral choices, the ones that withstand the test of time.

Make no mistake, these are difficult times. These times feel different because these times are different. Yet I’ve never been more optimistic about our collective futures because of the role you’ll play in it. So go out and have the audacity to think you can make a meaningful, lasting difference, then hold an unwavering commitment and belief to prove yourself right.