October 24, 2025

J.S. McLean, meat-packer, businessman and patron of the arts

A Visit to the McLean Family Grave, Mt. Pleasant Cemetery

On a recent walk through Mt. Pleasant Cemetery in Toronto, I stopped by the family grave of James Stanley McLean—a meat packer, businessman, and patron of the arts whose influence is still felt in the city today.

After graduating from the University of Toronto in 1901, the young McLean began his career as a clerk at the Harris Abattoir in Toronto. There, he caught the attention of the company’s president, Joseph Flavelle, who became his mentor and taught him the value of careful accounting and efficiency. McLean rose steadily through the ranks, and in the 1920s, after years of profitability while competitors faltered, he succeeded Flavelle as president. It surely helped that he had also married Flavelle’s daughter, Edith.

In 1927, McLean oversaw the merger of Harris Abattoir with three other firms to form Canada Packers Limited, where his firm leadership guided the company through decades of growth. He remained president until his death in 1954. Decades later, in 1990, Canada Packers was sold to Maple Leaf Foods, the Toronto-based meat packing and processing company controlled by the McCain family.

Beyond business, the McLeans were committed patrons of culture and philanthropy. In 1945, they founded the McLean Foundation, which continues to provide grants to organizations in music, theatre, the visual arts, and education. Among its many legacies is the J. S. McLean Centre for Indigenous and Canadian Art at the Art Gallery of Ontario, which houses a major part of the AGO’s national art collection.

The permanent collection at the AGO.

When Edith McLean passed away in 1967, she left their home and estate to Sunnybrook Hospital—a stunning property I visited after my walk through the cemetery.

James Stanley McLean died in Toronto on September 1, 1954, at the age of 78. Edith Flavelle McLean followed on May 15, 1967, at the age of 86.