Roy Mitchell Wolvin
IN the story of maritime development the up-building of the shipping interests of Canada furnishes a continuous progress and expansion, and in its present highly organized condition gives scope to the energies and capabilities of men of achievement who are widely known to the maritime world. Of these men several are natives of the United States.
In this category one of the most prominent and successful representatives is Roy Mitchell Wolvin, now largely engaged in the transportation business in Montreal, Canada, with his principal office at 286 St. James Street, in that city.
He was born in St. Clair, Michigan, the son of George A. and Mary A. (Harkness) Wolvin, was educated in the public schools of his native place :n 1896, and immediately thereafter became identified with the transportation interests, to which his entire business career has since been devoted. It was in the modest position of office boy that he began business life at Duluth, Minn., in 1896, with the Western Transit Company, which was the lake transportation end of the New York Central Rail-road.
Transportation problems interested him greatly, ind his advance was rapid. In a few years he "ad taken a prominent place in the shipping world had become the manager of various American steamship companies on the Great Lakes. In that career of progress he had obtained a knowledge the transportation business, especially as it to lake navigation, that was very complete,
■ - d he demonstrated executive powers in the management of transportation enterprises that gave
m both the ability and the connections for estab- . -hing large activities in general transportation Lines.
In 1910 he removed to Canada to engage in :e transportation business, and with the connec-
■ ?ns that he had established both in the United :^:ates and Canada he was enabled to build up a
ery active business in that line and also in the
-ssel brokerage business. Since establishing in Canada he has become identified with a number
the more prominent Canadian transportation r.cerns, in all of which he has an important and ■ rive connection, including the Montreal Trans-portation Company, of which he is now the presi-dent; the Collingwood Shipbuilding Company, of which he is vice-president; Halifax Shipyards, Ltd., of which he is managing director; and he is also president of the Maritime Wrecking find Salvage Company, and the Bishop Navigation Company, and is a director of the Dominion Steel Corporation.
During the war period when in Canada, as in the United States, the demand for tonnage became very great, Mr. Wolvin was enabled to render great service to the business and maritime interests of the Dominion in the chartering of ships and the procurement of cargo space for the ships overseas.
His work during the past few years has been almost exclusively lake transportation and operat-ing some ocean vessels, and outside of that, ship-building and the construction of a large new ship-building plant at Halifax. He also organized a large company which built the first twelve large auxiliary schooners in British Columbia, the completion of which was followed by large construction on account of the British Government.
Mr. Wolvin, through his connection as president of the Montreal Transportation Company, has built up that corporation to a position of one of the foremost in the transportation business in Canada, and his connection with the other companies, which have been mentioned, is also a very active one, so that he is identified not only with the transportation end but also in a very large and important degree with the shipbuilding industry of Canada.
The Canadian maritime interest, like that of the United States, is undergoing a remarkable ex-pansion. The building of ships has had great de-velopment; the demand for Canadian products is world-wide, and there is opening up to the Cana-dian shipping interests an era of great prosperity and notable expansion.
Among those identified with maritime interests in Canada, Mr. Wolvin is one of those best prepared by training, resources and abilities to take an active part in the promotion of the international trade of the Dominion with all the mercantile countries.
