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Dave Lougheed: From NSS Multi-athlete to Premiership Rugby to Wealth Advisor

Interview

This is part of Northern Notables, a collection of interviews with NSS Alumni who have made an impact in their personal and professional lives.

by Sam Laskaris

Dave Lougheed has certainly had his share of successes, both in the business world and on athletic fronts. Currently lead portfolio manager and wealth advisor for the Lougheed Wealth Management team in Calgary (a business he started in 2004), Dave is quick to identify Northern as a catalyst in his life. “The success I had at Northern really set me up for all the other successes," he said. "It was a great culture and the staff was great.”
Whenever Northern Secondary School pops up in conversation, Dave says fond memories flow. “It takes you immediately back to the Grade 12 and Grade 13 years … which were formative."
Dave graduated from NSS in 1986. While at Northern, Dave was a multi-sport athlete. He was a member of the school’s basketball, hockey, track and field, football and rugby teams. His football and rugby teams won more than their share of contests. 
Interview continues below
Dave Lougheed NSS'86 playing for Canada's Mens National Rugby Team
Dave Lougheed playing on the Canadian National Men's team for 13 years, playing in the Rugby World Cup four times.
Dave played the safety position in football, and was a fly-half while suiting up for the rugby team. He played pivotal roles for Northern squads and recalls winning numerous city championships at both the junior and senior levels. 

Laughing, Dave admits he wasn’t quite as adept musically during his Northern days. “They asked me to kindly leave the band because my trumpeting skills were not up to par,” he said.
After graduating from Northern, Dave attended Queen’s University in Kingston, where he spent five years toiling in men’s rugby, winning Ontario championships each year, from 1986-90.

Dave also spent 13 years with the Canadian national men’s team. As a member of that squad, he participated in the Rugby World Cup four times. Dave even played pro rugby overseas, spending two years with the Leisester Tigers, a franchise in Premiership Rugby, England’s top rugby circuit. Dave and his Tigers teammates won league championships both years.
They asked me to kindly leave the band because my trumpeting skills were not up to par.
–  Dave Lougheed about NSS band
As a post-secondary student, Lougheed earned a Masters of Arts degree from Queen’s. Later on he obtained his Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Calgary. He taught at Toronto’s Upper Canada College from 1993-98 before moving to Alberta in 2000.

Returning to NSS nostalgia, Dave mentions that several of his relatives also have connections to the school. “Our family had a huge long legacy there,” he said.
Dave’s mother Margaret Ann was an english and physical education teacher at Northern. She also had a stint at the school as a guidance counsellor. Dave's sister Sue also ended up teaching at Northern. And various nieces and nephews attended Northern.

With his home base in western Canada, Dave notes that he doesn’t get to see high school teammates and friends often. Recently, in the summer of 2019, he had the chance to reconnect with numerous former Northern teammates when he came to Toronto to attend the funeral of legendary Red Knights’ coach Clarke Pulford.

Now 53, Dave plays the odd rugby match with friends. But it’s not something he plans to continue doing with any frequency. “I don’t mind being hurt,” he said. “But I hate healing.” 
Dave Lougheed was inducted into the Ontario Rugby Hall of Fame in 2015. And then, four years later, he was a Rugby Canada Hall of Fame inductee.

LINKS

Interviewer, Sam Laskaris, is a Toronto-based freelance writer and joined the NSSF board in early 2021. His wife Kathryn (Defries) and their two sons, Michael and Adam, are Northern alumni. Sam has been a long-time supporter of Northern where his sons were key contributors to the school’s drama and athletic programs.