Bruce Bingham ALEXANDER

1938 - 2022

BRUCE BINGHAM ALEXANDER Q.C. (B. Comm., LL.B., LL.D.) April 8, 1938 - June 1, 2022 After suffering a massive stroke only days ago, followed by a diagnosis of stage 4 pancreatic cancer, Bruce died in palliative care at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto on June 1, 2022. We extend our thanks to paramedics and emergency staff, as well as neurology/stroke unit and palliative care professionals, for their excellent care for Bruce. Beloved husband of Andrea for 58 years; devoted father to Christopher; admiring father-in-law to Hedvig Christine (née Boserup); adoring Gramps to Selma (13 years), Elisabeth (10), and Julius (3); predeceased by sister Dr. Gail Madell and her husband Dr. William Madell, and by his brother, John. In Sudbury, he leaves brother, David (Judy), nephew, Matthew (Alesia); in India, brother, Richard; in Simcoe County, Elfriede (Michael), and nephew, Mark (Dr. Tara); in Brooklin, Durham Region, ON, his niece Pamela (Kevin); in Kimberley, BC, his Madell nephews, Andrew (Kim), Robert (Sarah), Daniel (Laura) - and all their families. Bruce was born in Montreal to Ruth and Clare Alexander; attended Hillcrest Public School and Oakwood Collegiate Institute in Toronto, and Oakville-Trafalgar High School; graduated from Queen's University (B.Comm. '60) and University of Toronto Law School (LL.B. '65); also attended the London School of Economics, Dalhousie Law School (Dunn Scholar) and the Advanced Management Program of Harvard Business School. His career was in government, law, private and volunteer sectors. He was an associate lawyer at Osler, Hoskin and Harcourt and later managing director (1987-91) of Fraser Beatty (now Dentons). For thirteen years he served in the Ontario government, first under Premier Bill Davis and Minister of Transportation and Communications (MTC) Gordon Carton, later as chair of the Ontario Highway Transport Board (1978-83), as well as in assistant deputy minister roles at MTC and the Ministry of Community and Social Services (1983-87). He was a vice-chair of the Ontario Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal (2000-16). At the federal level, he was special advisor to Minister of Constitutional Affairs Joe Clark (1991-93) at the time of the Charlottetown Accord, and a prominent 'no' organizer for the 1995 Quebec referendum. He was also a Principal in GlobeInvest Capital Management (1993-98) and Vice President of McCutcheon Steinbach Investment Management (1998-99). Bruce was a tireless supporter of Queen's University, serving as Alma Mater Society President in 1960 and on the Board of Trustees (1970-82) for over a decade, while championing multiple initiatives to promote advancement, diversity and outreach, as well as Queen's Gaels football. He was co-founder of the Kingston and Queen's Rowing Clubs and the Queen's Public Sector Management Program, as well as an inveterate volunteer in his local community, for law reform and countless Canadian community causes. He believed in mentorship, launching the 'Shadow Cabinet' in 2009 to multiply opportunities by "building bridges and making connections" for young Canadians from minority and immigrant backgrounds - a role that gave him unending satisfaction, as well as deep and lasting friendships. Bruce was devoted to sport, recreation and the outdoors. He enjoyed football and rugby, as well as alpine and cross-country skiing, tennis and squash. In 1953 he came 3rd in boys' tricks at the Canadian Water Ski Championships at the CNE. He was a lifelong champion of Canada's amateur athletes, our national teams and Toronto's Olympic bid. As a founder of the Boulder Buster Canoe Club, he shared white-water adventures with friends and family across Northern Ontario and Québec leaving a legacy of camaraderie, song and stories. Bruce had a preternatural ability to inject contagious enthusiasm into everything he did. He loved Canada; he connected spontaneously with people of all backgrounds; his creed was fitness; he marvelled at the healing quality of the arts, literature and wilderness. His sanctuary was the family cottage at Bingham's Bay on Lake Cecebe (Magnetawan River); almost seventy years ago, Parry Sound-Muskoka gave him the love of his life, Andrea Lough. He was devoted to his Alexander, Bingham, Madell, Lough, Copeland and Digby relatives across Canada and around the world, maintaining wide, inter-locking circles of loyal friends that defied the usual categories of network and connection. He is sorely missed. Please direct any donations in his memory to Queen's University. Cremation has taken place. Notification will follow for a celebration of life to take place this summer.