Donner Canadian Foundation
Background
The Donner Canadian Foundation is a non-profit philanthropic organization. It was established in 1950 by steel industrialist William H. Donner.1“History of the Foundation,” Donner Canadian Foundation. Archived July 27, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/YeAYU
According to the InfluenceWatch project, there are currently six descendants of Donner on the foundation’s nine-person board. The Donner family also controls the U.S.-based William H. Donner Foundation, which has been known for its grants to right-wing advocacy organizations.2“William H. Donner Foundation,” Influence Watch. Accessed July 2022.
The late Allan Gotlieb was a chairman of the Donner Canadian Foundation, as well as founder and director of the Center for the Defense of Free Enterprise (CDFE), chairman of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, and the executive director of the Second Amendment Foundation.
Stance on Climate Change
The Donner Canadian Foundation has funded groups that promote climate change skepticism, including the Fraser Institute and the Frontier Centre for Public Policy.
Funding
The following information is based on DeSmog’s review of publicly available tax forms. Listed donees are a subset of notable organizations.
View the attached spreadsheet for a list of all recipients and additional information on the Donner Canadian Foundation’s funding by year (.xlsx).
Key Recipients
| Recipient | Sum of contribution |
| Fraser Institute | $5,072,721 |
| University of Delaware | $1,405,517 |
| Montreal Economic Institute | $1,401,943 |
| Macdonald-Laurier Institute / L’Institut Macdonald-Laurier | $1,329,441 |
| C.D. Howe Institute | $1,303,076 |
| Stanford University | $1,237,034 |
| Atlantic Institute for Market Studies | $1,007,500 |
| Frontier Centre for Public Policy | $989,288 |
| Canadian Constitution Foundation | $970,743 |
| Institute for Liberal Studies | $211,133 |
| Energy Probe Research Foundation (Urban Renaissance Institute) | $140,000 |
| Breakout Educational Network | $130,000 |
| Canadian Ditchley Foundation | $127,500 |
| Medaille College | $98,500 |
| Mackenzie Institute | $85,000 |
| SecondStreet.Org | $71,000 |
| University of Guelph | $70,000 |
| Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms | $62,741 |
| York University | $60,000 |
| Canada West Foundation | $40,000 |
| Dept. of Economics, State University of New York, Binghamton | $36,200 |
| Focus on the Family (Canada) Association | $10,000 |
| Grand Total | $15,859,337 |
All Recipients
*Scroll right to view all years and totals
990 Forms
Key People
Board of Governors
Employees
Related Organizations
Contact & Address
According to the Donner Canadian Foundation website, the group’s contact information is:3“Contact,” Donner Canadian Foundation. Archived July 27, 2022. Archive URL:https://archive.ph/z7YiI
Donner Canadian Foundation
8 Prince Arthur Avenue, 3rd Floor
Toronto, ON M5R 1A9Telephone: 416-920-6400
Fax: 416-920-5577
Social Media
- N/A
Other Resources
Resources
- 1“History of the Foundation,” Donner Canadian Foundation. Archived July 27, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/YeAYU
- 2“William H. Donner Foundation,” Influence Watch. Accessed July 2022.
- 3“Contact,” Donner Canadian Foundation. Archived July 27, 2022. Archive URL:https://archive.ph/z7YiI
