Montreal from 1535 to 1914. Vol. 3. Biographical

by William H. Atherton

In 1895 Senator Forget became president of the Richelieu & Ontario Navigation Company. At that time the affairs of the company were far from being on a dividend-paying basis and the rehabilitation of its interests was but another illustration of Senator Forget’s constructive genius. He resigned his position as head of the company in 1905, but in the meantime the stock was paying a six per cent dividend and the affairs of the company generally were in a better condition than ever before.

One of the great achievements of Senator Forget was in carrying through the merger of the Montreal Light, Heat & Power Company and in doing so he accomplished what many predicted to be utterly impossible, saying that nothing but failure and financial disaster could result. This was in 1900 before the days when big business interests were merged into mammoth enterprises and the amount involved, seventeen million dollars, seemed to stagger even the most progressive element in financial circles. Like all of his undertakings, Mr. Forget had not entered into this without due consideration and he had implicit confidence in its success. It is doubtful if any but he could have swung that deal and how well he succeeded is best indicated in the value of the securities of the company in investment circles.

He was a prominent figure in the notable contest which took place between the Dominion Coal Company and the Dominion Iron & Steel Company. Originally a director and vice president of the coal company he espoused the cause of the steel company in its fight over the coal supply and ultimately the matter was carried to the privy council and was there decided in favor of the steel company. Mr. Forget was elected vice president of the steel corporation when eventually the two companies were merged and he continued to take an active part in the administration of the affairs of the company to the time when his health began to fail. Evidence of his wonderful insight and sagacity in business matters is shown in the fact that when the trouble first arose from which resulted the extended litigation between the Dominion Iron & Steel Company and the Dominion Coal Company Senator Forget went over the point in contention in his characteristic deliberate manner and at once concluded that the claim of the steel corporation would be sustained by the courts, notwithstanding the contrary opinion of some of the greatest legal authorities and business men of the day and time proved that his judgment was correct.

He was the first French-Canadian to be elected to the directorate of the Canadian Pacific Railway and was a member of its board at the time of his death. His greatest enthusiasm was aroused while viewing the untold resources of the west during the many times he accompanied Sir Thomas Shaughnessy and R. B. Angus on their annual tours of inspection. When the life work of Senator Forget was ended the Montreal Daily Star said in part: “By the death of Senator Forget a man of affairs has been lost to Canada. A man of wide vision who saw far into the future and who modeled his career accordingly. A glance through the financial district at the half-masted flags at once conveys an idea of the number and the prominence of the institutions that Senator Forget had been interested in. Senator Forget stood out in Canadian finance, but more than that, he was a true Canadian citizen and had done his share towards the public weal, forgetting not his duty towards the state in the midst of tremendous private enterprises. He was a man of sympathies. At all times courteous and approachable, he could thrust aside great business matters to attend to the small wants of individuals, nor was he ever found wanting or indifferent when charity offered a plea.

“In finance Senator Forget was a true leader. He was one of the first men to loom large in high finance in Canada. He realized many possibilities which other men have realized too—but he followed that by action. He had the courage to follow his convictions and many solid institutions which today enjoy in themselves prosperity and largely aid in the advancement of the Dominion, owe to him debts which can never be repaid to the individual, though they will be to the people of the country. His financial ability brought him into prominence in connection with several of the largest corporations in the Dominion, prominent among which were the Montreal Street, the Richelieu & Ontario Navigation Company and the Montreal Light, Heat & Power Company, the Dominion Coal Company, and the Dominion Iron & Steel Company.

“Senator Forget was one of the colossal figures about whom have surged the tides and currents of Canadian finance. The news of his death this morning was as much of a shock as a surprise, both to those with whom he had been so long associated in connection with the organization and the management of the great financial and industrial enterprises of the Dominion and to the thousands of others to whom his name had come to be the shibboleth of success.

“But if Senator Forget represented one thing more than success it was absolute unswerving fidelity to his word. In all the heat and confusion of the stock market amidst the treacheries which sometimes attend on high financing and the deception and duplicity which beset the path of the successful man everywhere, there was never a question of his own unfaltering veracity. Senator Forget was wisely charitable, an intelligent patron of the arts, and a strong supporter of all movements which made for the better government of the city and the state. He will long be remembered for what he was as well as for what he did.”

Another Montreal paper said of him: “His rise to financial fame is written on the business history of Montreal, and the story of his success in the financial world is the history of the development of the city. Although Senator Forget’s estate will count up into the millions, its accumulation was not effected by continuous plain sailing.”

Obstacles and difficulties of grave import arose, but his financial capacity and strict integrity had won the confidence and trust of friends who rallied to his support, and although he saw the storm clouds gather, he was able to turn threatened disaster into brilliant achievement. His investments were most judiciously made and his judgment concerning important financial transactions seemed never at fault. Once his mind was made up as to the value of a security nothing could shake his confidence, and much of his success in life was due to his unerring judgment.