Claude Taylor in 1976, the year he was named president and CEO of Air Canada.
The native of Salisbury, N.B., joined the fledgling Trans-Canada Airlines in Moncton, N.B., as a reservations clerk in 1949. While working, he attended McGill University and graduated as a Registered Industrial Accountant in 1953.
Thanks to his vision, business acumen and commitment, Taylor steadily rose through the company’s ranks and became president and CEO of Air Canada in 1976, then chairman in 1984. He remained with the airline in executive and board positions through the late 1990s.
Shortly after assuming Air Canada’s top post, Taylor pushed for what would become the 1977 Air Canada Act, which separated Air Canada from Canadian National Railways and made it a stand-alone crown corporation. He then directed the airline’s move to privatization, leading to Air Canada becoming completely private in 1988.
He also made his mark internationally. In 1977 Taylor accepted chairmanship of a special industry committee, the International Aviation Management Training Institute, which laid the foundation of a restructured International Air Transportation Association (IATA).
For these and many other accomplishments, Taylor was inducted into Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame in 1985.
He also lent his skills and passion to the community. Taylor was a member of Concordia’s Board of Governors from 1986 to 1997, serving as vice-chairman from 1993 to 1995. He was named a Concordia governor emeritus in 1996.
Taylor volunteered for a number of other worthy fundraising causes, such as Centraide. He received many awards and accolades, including being named an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1986. Concordia bestowed an honorary doctorate on Taylor in 2005, and he also earned honorary degrees from the University of New Brunswick and McMaster University.
Taylor’s wife of 66 years, Frances Watters, died in November 2013. He is survived by his brother Fred (Marjorie) and family in Salisbury, and by his children Peter (Karen Quinn) and Karen, both of Beaconsfield, Que., along with six grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.