1956 -
John Carswell was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, and became the third generation of his family to serve in the military. His father, Squadron Leader Andrew Carswell, was a Second World War Lancaster pilot who rejoined the RCAF for a peacetime career and was later awarded the Air Force Cross. His grandfather, Sergeant Morrison Carswell, spent five years in the trenches with the Toronto Motorized Machine Gun Battalion in the First World War and was awarded a Military Cross for bravery.
Following their example of service to country, Carswell enrolled at CMR Saint-Jean in 1973 and transferred to RMC to complete a Commerce degree, graduating in 1978. He was an active participant in college sports and programs including rugby, water polo, debating and reporting. After graduation, Carswell earned his Air Navigator wings and spent his brief Air Force career at 436 Transport Squadron and 424 Transport and Rescue Squadron in Trenton.
Carswell completed his Master of Business Administration at Queen’s University in 1985, winning the Finance Award. He then left the Air Force and started a civilian career in the financial sector. After gaining experience at several firms, he founded Canso Investment Counsel Ltd. in 1997, naming his company after the PBY5-A Canso, which his father flew. He felt that the Canso embodied the traits that people sought in wealth management: reliability, stability and performance. Carswell grew Canso into Canada’s largest corporate bond and credit management company with $38 billion in assets and over 150 employees.
He is a world class philanthropist who has impacted the lives of tens of thousands with his generosity and example. His individual and corporate contributions are numerous and show a commitment to the preservation of military history, the well-being of veterans and care for Canadian society. In military history, he was the lead donor for the new Visitor Education Centre at Vimy Ridge that opened in 2017. His donations to Canadian Warplane Heritage created an endowment to operate their PBY-5A Canso and provided funding for the purchase of Canso 11024 to be operated and displayed at the BC Aviation Museum in Victoria. In veteran protection, he supports the Veterans’ House in Ottawa, a project completed by Multifaith Housing Initiative in 2021 that houses 40 homeless Canadian Forces veterans. In addition, with Carswell’s support, Veterans’ House Canada was chartered in 2022 to build further Veterans’ Houses in major centres across Canada. He also donates to the Captain Nichola Goddard Fund and is a sponsor of the annual Women’s Military Leadership seminar. Larger initiatives that benefit Canadian society include Carswell’s annual donation of $2 million to United Way with 100% participation from Canso staff. Finally, Carswell and Canso are the largest individual and corporate donors to “Movember”, contributing to the fight against prostate cancer. These diverse initiatives display incredible generosity and illustrate his commitment to causes of importance to our history, our military and our country.
Former Minister of Veterans Affairs, the Honourable Erin O’Toole, aptly stated that “no Canadian has done more to preserve our military heritage and support our military families and veterans than John Carswell. He has leveraged his tremendous business success into an opportunity to recognize service, honour the past and build a stronger country.”
Since College days, Carswell has been a man unafraid to pursue a better approach to the task at hand. He was generous before he had money, and a leader and example to all who felt that “no matter what your rank or wealth, it is your family and friendships that really count in life.” With his humble approach, he seeks to recognize others over himself, ensuring that a bridge over Highway 401 was named after Captain Nichola Goddard and that the Learning Centre at the Vimy Visitor Education Centre was dedicated to his grandfather. He also is steadfast in his goal of promoting awareness of our historical military context by all Canadians.
Despite avoiding the limelight whenever possible, Carswell has been recognized for his personal and monetary contributions. He is included in Canada’s Who’s Who for investment management from 1990 to the present and is the winner of many investment awards including the 2022 Lipper Refinitiv Fund Company of the Year with six “Top Funds”. He has also received the Patriot Award by True Patriot Love for a wide variety of contributions to Canadian military families and veterans. Most recently, Carswell received the King Charles III Coronation Medal in recognition of his decades of accomplishments and selfless support of important causes.
Plaque inscription:
Humanitarian, Philanthropist, Advocate