Wallace McCain: a country mourns ‘a classical Canadian’

Wallace McCain, who rose from humble beginnings in rural New Brunswick to become a global titan in the food processing industry, has died. He was 81.

In his final months, McCain waged a public battle with pancreatic cancer, tackling it in the same straightforward, business-like manner that served him so well in corporate head offices.

“I’ve had illness all my life,” he told the Telegraph-Journal two months ago when he first went public with his terminal illness. “It’s not significant. I still eat and drink every day. I’m 80, so what the hell?”

Although family and friends were aware that McCain was dying, the news that he had succumbed to cancer was nevertheless a surprise to many.