CFL.ca Staff

David Braley, the new owner of the Toronto Argonauts, has a long and distinguished track record of success when it comes to building a business, the community, or a football franchise.

He began his business career with the General Motors Acceptance Corporation in Hamilton, before advancing to London Life Insurance. In 1969, he acquired William Orlick Limited, which subsequently became Orlick Industries Limited, and he worked tirelessly and successfully to transform this small shop in to a leading manufacturer of aluminum die-cast automotive parts and assemblies, providing employment and opportunity to hundreds of Hamiltonians.

Mr. Braley has made donations to, and served on the board of, many of the Hamilton-Burlington area’s most vital charities and arts institutions, including his work as the founding chairman of Hamilton Entertainment and Convention Facilities Inc., which includes the Hamilton Convention Centre, Hamilton Place and Copps Coliseum. While his charitable works are too numerous to mention here, it’s worth highlighting what the Hamilton Spectator once described as a “stunning ten month stretch” from August of 2006 to June of 2007, when he gave $5 million to McMaster University for a new athletic complex, $10 million to Hamilton Health Sciences for a cardiac, vascular and stroke research institute, $5 million to St. Joseph’s Healthcare for operating rooms and kidney urinary care, and $50 million to McMaster’s medical school.

These gifts reflect his intense focus on the future, as they emphasize preventative health and wellness, research and innovation. In fact, his contributions to McMaster included the biggest gift to stem cell research in Canadian history. He is well known for demanding accountability in exchange for his philanthropy, just as he has a reputation for exacting accountability from executives in his business and sport ventures.

As owner of the British Columbia Lions since January, 1997, he has done much to transform what was a proud but struggling organization into a successful and winning Canadian Football League franchise, capturing Grey Cup championships in 2000 and 2006. More than that, he has helped establish the Lions as one of British Columbia’s model citizens, a team active in charitable and community endeavours focused on public education, youth football, and health and wellness. In 2007, the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association presented him with an award, not merely for winning football games, but for outstanding philanthropic and community service.

Previously, Mr. Braley purchased the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 1989, sustaining that CFL franchise until he turned it over to a community group three years later. For Mr. Braley, a former acting Commissioner of our league from March 2002 to November 2002,  and a leader amongst his peers on our Board of Governors, the Canadian Football League represents an important piece of the fabric of our nation, integral to Canada’s history and culture. Its place in the life of the nation is best captured by the Grey Cup, and Mr. Braley’s Lions hosted one of the most successful Grey Cups ever in Vancouver in 2005, generating tens of millions of dollars in economic activity in British Columbia, and compelling the CFL to award the 99th Grey Cup to Vancouver in 2011.

His passion for Canada and sport prompted him to run the 2003 Road World Cycling Championships in Hamilton. And it led him to his role as a director of Ontario’s successful bid to host the 2015 Pan Am Games. He is now a leading member of the board overseeing preparations for those games.

Mr. Braley lives in Burlington with his wife Nancy.