Gwyn Morgan and Patricia Trottier Foundation

Background

Gwyn Morgan and his wife, Patricia Trottier, founded the Gwyn Morgan and Patricia Trottier Foundation in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.¹

Patricia Trottier, “a community leader and former investor relations/corporate communications executive,” manages the foundation, according to a profile at the University of Victoria.²

Gwynn Morgan is the founding CEO of what was Canada’s largest energy company, EnCana Corp. He is also a trustee of the Fraser Institute and the Manning Centre for Building Democracy, which is now known as the Canada Strong and Free Network. He stepped down as CEO of Encana in 2005.³ Encana rebranded under Ovintiv Inc. and established a corporate domicile in the U.S. in 2020.⁴

Stance on Climate Change

While the Gwyn Morgan and Patricia Trottier Foundation hasn’t released any official statements on climate change, groups it funds have strongly opposed or promoted doubt around the scientific consensus on climate change.

For example, it has provided the Frontier Centre for Public Policy (FCPP) with at least $150,000, according to CRA funding records. In 2024, FCPP published an article claiming “manmade climate influences … are minuscule compared to the planetary, solar and galactic forces that really control Earth’s climate,” and that it would be “immoral and evil” to eliminate coal, oil, and natural gas.”⁵

DeSmog reported the foundation also gave $530,000 to the True North Centre for Public Policy, the parent organization of the conservative website True North.⁶

“True North for years has run content disputing that the climate emergency is serious — or even real. In 2020 it hosted climate denier Patrick Moore for an interview ‘to discuss why CO2 is a positive, not a negative, for the environment, and how to push back against hysteria from climate alarmists’,” DeSmog reported.⁷

Funding

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) provided the following data, and any errors are present in the original. DeSmog has made only minor corrections for misspellings and naming inconsistencies for ease of analysis.

View the attached spreadsheet for additional information on the Gwyn Morgan & Patricia Trottier Foundation’s funding (.xlsx).

Key Donees

All Donees

Manning Foundation Funding

According to data from the CRA, the Gwyn Morgan and Patricia Trottier Foundation has donated $3,419,291 to the Manning Foundation, a charity founded in 2007 by Preston Manning, the founder of the Reform Party of Canada.

Preston Manning also founded the Manning Centre for Building Democracy in 2005, a group that was renamed the Canada Strong & Free Network. The Canada Strong and Free Network has described its purpose as supporting “conservative and libertarian activists and ideas in Canada.”⁸

Key People

The Gwyn Morgan & Patricia Foundation listed the following people on their filings with the CRA:⁹

Gwyn Morgan — Chairman and CEO¹⁰

Gwyn Morgan is the founding CEO of EnCana Corp., Canada’s largest energy company, where he stepped down as CEO in 2005.¹¹

Morgan is a trustee of the Fraser Institute, the Manning Centre for Building Democracy, now the Canada Strong and Free Network, and the Dalai Lama Center for Peace and Education.¹²

John Armstrong — Former president¹³

A John Armstrong is a senior fellow with the C.D. Howe Institute. According to his profile at the C.D. Howe Institute, he previously served as the National Industry Lead for Financial Services at KPMG Canada.¹⁴

The C.D. Howe Institute’s 2021 annual report lists John Armstrong as a member of the Institute’s Financial Services Research Initiative. The Gwyn Morgan & Patricia Trottier Foundation was listed among the C.D. Howe Institute’s Corporate, Association, and Foundation Members that year.¹⁵

John Davis — Vice president and later listed as treasurer¹⁶

A John W. Davis is a co-founder of WealthBridge Partners,¹⁷ an independent private wealth management firm.¹⁸

The WealthBridge homepage offered a testimonial by Gwyn Morgan as follows:¹⁹

“Retaining John Davis and Brenda Nugent to provide personal advisory and support services “Retaining John Davis and Brenda Nugent to provide personal advisory and support services to EnCana’s senior executives was one of my best decisions, and since our retirement, WealthBridge’s highly professional and insightful advice have proven just as important to my wife (Patricia Trottier) and me. Our 20-year working relationship has been rewarding in every way.”

Patricia Trottier — President²⁰

A profile at the University of Victoria describes Patricia Trottier as “a community leader and former investor relations/corporate communications executive.” It suggests she is responsible for managing the Gwyn Morgan and Patricia Trottier Foundation.²¹

Patrick Trottier — Listed as president in fiscal period 2012.²²

Siân Matthews — Former secretary/treasurer²³

Siân M. Matthews has served on the boards of several groups, including Canada Post and The Calgary Foundation,²⁴ Tricon Capital Group, and Cidel Bank Canada. She was listed on the Women’s Executive Network (WXN list of Canada’s Most Powerful Women in 2016.²⁵

Contact & Address

According to data at CRA, the Gwyn Morgan and Patricia Trottier’s address was as follows:²⁸

PO BOX 22123 RPO BANKERS
CALGARY, AB
T2P 4J5

This address appears to be shared with other Canadian charities.

The Gwyn Morgan and Patricia Trottier Foundation does not appear to be active on social media.

Other Resources

Resources

1
“Gwyn Morgan ‘Be An Engineer’ Bursary,” University of Victoria. Archived February 8, 2025. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/Co7rC
2
“Gwyn Morgan ‘Be An Engineer’ Bursary,” University of Victoria. Archived February 8, 2025. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/Co7rC
3
“Gwyn Morgan,” The Globe and Mail. Archived January 8, 2025. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/eLtve
4
(Press Release). “Encana Completes Reorganization and Establishes Corporate Domicile in the U.S.” Ovintiv, January 24, 2020. Archived March 1, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/cqXlG
5
Paul Driessen and Ronald Stein. “We Can And Must Adjust To Climate Change – And Not Kill Billions,” Frontier Centre for Public Policy, July 9, 2024. Archived February 28, 2025. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/ucEHy
6
Geoff Dembicki. “Fracking Pioneer Gwyn Morgan Gave $530K to Anti-Climate Website ‘True North’,” DeSmog, October 28, 2024.
7
Geoff Dembicki. “Fracking Pioneer Gwyn Morgan Gave $530K to Anti-Climate Website ‘True North’,” DeSmog, October 28, 2024.
8
“2016 ANNUAL REPORT” (PDF), Manning Centre. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
9
“THE GWYN MORGAN AND PATRICIA TROTTIER FOUNDATION,” Government of Canada. Accessed February 2025. Archived data and additional records provided by CRA are on file at DeSmog.
10
“THE GWYN MORGAN AND PATRICIA TROTTIER FOUNDATION,” Government of Canada. Accessed February 2025. Archived data and additional records provided by CRA are on file at DeSmog.
11
“Gwyn Morgan,” The Globe and Mail. Archived January 8, 2025. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/eLtve
12
“Gwyn Morgan,” The Globe and Mail. Archived January 8, 2025. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/eLtve
13
“THE GWYN MORGAN AND PATRICIA TROTTIER FOUNDATION,” Government of Canada. Accessed February 2025. Archived data and additional records provided by CRA are on file at DeSmog.
14
“John Armstrong,” C.D. Howe Institute. Archived February 12, 2025. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/oIVMo
15
“Strength to Strength: Annual Report 2001” (PDF), C.D. Howe Institute, May 27, 2022 (Document creation date).. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
16
“THE GWYN MORGAN AND PATRICIA TROTTIER FOUNDATION,” Government of Canada. Accessed February 2025. Archived data and additional records provided by CRA are on file at DeSmog.
17
“John W. Davis,” WealthBridge. Archived January 9, 2025. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/Bpegm
18
“Our Story,” WealthBridge. Archived January 10, 2025. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/tzCI6
19
Homepage. WealthBridge. Archived January 9, 2025. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/IqTJX
20
“THE GWYN MORGAN AND PATRICIA TROTTIER FOUNDATION,” Government of Canada. Accessed February 2025. Archived data and additional records provided by CRA are on file at DeSmog.
21
“Gwyn Morgan ‘Be An Engineer’ Bursary,” University of Victoria. Archived February 8, 2025. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/Co7rC
22
“THE GWYN MORGAN AND PATRICIA TROTTIER FOUNDATION,” Government of Canada. Accessed February 2025. Archived data and additional records provided by CRA are on file at DeSmog.
23
“THE GWYN MORGAN AND PATRICIA TROTTIER FOUNDATION,” Government of Canada. Accessed February 2025. Archived data and additional records provided by CRA are on file at DeSmog.
24
Canada Post Corporation. “Siân M. Matthews,” The Globe and Mail, January 19, 2015. Archived February 28, 2025. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/mnTC6
25
(Press Release). “WXN Unveils 2016 Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 to Celebrate and Inspire Female Leaders,” Cision, November 23, 2016. Archived February 28, 2025. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/cwYbM
26
“Partner: Gwyn Morgan & Patricia Trottier,” Canada Strong & Free Network. Archived January 7, 2025. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/tbKeH
27
“PARTNER: Gwyn Morgan & Patricia Trottier,” Manning Foundation. Archived January 7, 2025. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/VxChf
28
“Detail Page: THE GWYN MORGAN AND PATRICIA TROTTIER FOUNDATION: Business/Registration number: 853519270 RR 0001,” Government of Canada. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

DeSmog

DeSmog