Donor Stories – Arthur and Sonia Labatt
Almost ten years ago, Arthur and Sonia Labatt presented SickKids with an unprecedented donation of $5 million to help establish the world-leading Brain Tumour Research Centre.
At the time, this gift was the single largest contribution from a family in the history of SickKids. The Labatt’s vision was to create an institution where scientists and clinicians from SickKids, the University Health Network (UHN) and the University of Toronto (U of T) could work side-by-side, integrating groundbreaking lab research with patients being treated in clinics at SickKids.
February 7, 2007 marks yet another transformational gift to children’s health by the Labatt family. Arthur and Sonia Labatt have demonstrated their steadfast belief in SickKids and its potential to improve children’s health on a worldwide scale. With their generosity, SickKids will be able to enhance the excellence of the Brain Tumour Research Centre and will create a world-leading heart centre for children who need it most. The Labatt Family Heart Centre at SickKids opened its doors in 2007.
SickKids is privileged to have Arthur and Sonia Labatt share in our vision.
Arthur Labatt co-founded Trimark Financial Corporation, now AIM Trimark Investments, one of Canada’s largest mutual fund companies. He was elected to Fellowship of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario in March 1997. Highlights of his volunteer activities include directorships at SickKids Foundation, Parkinson Foundation of Canada, Canadian Opera Company, Young People’s Theatre, Toronto French School and the African Medical and Research Foundation. In October 2004, Mr. Labatt was installed as Chancellor of the University of Western Ontario, a position he continues to hold today. For his outstanding business and community leadership, Mr. Labatt was named an Officer of the Order of Canada in July 1996.
Dr. Sonia Labatt is an Associate Faculty Member at the Centre for Environment at the University of Toronto. Both her teaching and research focus on issues of corporate environmental management. Dr. Labatt’s volunteer activities included directorships at the National Ballet of Canada and the Wellesley Hospital Foundation. She also was a director of the Art Gallery of Ontario and co-chaired Havergal College’s ‘Fund for Tomorrow’ campaign. Currently, Dr. Labatt is a director of World Wildlife Fund Canada, sits on the Dean’s Advisory Board, Faculty of Arts and Science, University of Toronto and is a member of the Board of Trustees at SickKids.
SickKids is privileged to have Arthur and Sonia Labatt share in the vision of Healthier Children. A Better World.
