Donald J. Daly

Sadly, Don Daly passed away on October 19, 2022, after living 100 years of life to its fullest. He will be remembered as a beloved husband to Madeleine (nee Thrasher) for 79 years, a devoted father to Eric, Dennis and Maureen, a kind and loving Grandfather to Heather, Colleen, Sheelagh, Shanna, Kira, Nola, Jacqueline and Jonathan, Great-Grandfather to Elise, Philp, Nathalie, Finley and Maeve, as well as caring older brother to Helen.

Born August 23, 1922 in Edmonton, Alberta, Don was the second of five children born to William and Ellen (nee Anderson). Jack was the eldest, followed by Don, Iris, Bill and Helen. He was predeceased by Jack, Iris and Bill. His father had been born in Ireland and Don was proud of his Irish roots and researched the genealogy of the Daly family tree.

Although Don started public school in Calgary, the family moved to Regina when he was in Grade 2 and the balance of his public school and high school were completed in Regina. While studying at Regina College, Don met his love, Madeleine. They were engaged when he moved to Kingston where he completed his B.A. and B.Com. at Queen’s University in 1943, at the age of 20. Upon graduation, Don joined the Royal Canadian Naval Reserve from May 1943 to September 1945. He served in action on convoy duty on the Canadian east coast, and was discharged with the rank of Lieutenant. Don spoke to many audiences about his naval experiences and participated in the Memory Project in schools. In September 1943, while on leave, he went to Regina and married Madeleine on September 18. After the war, he completed his Masters at Queen’s and then in 1953 graduated with a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Chicago, the top economics department in the U.S. at that time.

Don spent 22 years in Ottawa with the Canadian federal government’s the Economics Branch, Department of Trade and Commerce, the Royal Commission on Money and Banking and with the Economic Council of Canada. In 1969 he moved the family to Toronto and joined the Business School at York University and taught there until retirement. He was active in research, with a focus on studies on Japan. While with the Graduate Business School at York University Don made nine trips to Japan totaling about nine months of time.

Throughout his life, Don was a regular church attendee actively involved in churches and the community. This included the Emmanuel United Church in Ottawa, Forest Grove United Church in North York, and Holy Trinity Church in Thornhill. He would assume leadership roles, including treasurer, steward, long-range planning committees and Bible study groups. Don and Madeleine were faithful in church attendance and support.

Don has always been an avid camper and fisherman. He loved his time at the trailer in Haliburton and at the Franklin Fishing Club in Mount Albert where he was on the Board of Directors for seven years as treasurer, and acted as Chairman for one year. He loves to travel and in addition to Japan, he and Madeleine travelled to all 52 States and European countries, Australia and New Zealand. Their children and grandchild have inherited their love of travel and adventure. There are many who have stories of Don’s love of fishing, the outdoors, gardening, cooking and his devotion to family. Over the years there were many family celebrations – milestone birthdays, anniversaries and family weddings – Don was happiest when surrounded by his family and friends. He was a loyal and true friend to many. His quiet manner, sense of humour, his constant smile, his generosity and love will be missed by all those who knew him.

A Memorial Service to celebrate Don’s legacy ~ his long and incredible life ~ will be held on Saturday, November 12 at 11:00 a.m. at Holy Trinity Church, 140 Brooke St, Thornhill, L4J 1Y9. Light refreshments to follow. The service will be livestreamed through this link and can also be viewed afterwards from this same link. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCN-9o0JDfR9B9koQb4vwVfw/streams;

In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that donations in memory of Dr. Donald Daly, be made to charities that Don generously and passionately supported, such as: Holy Trinity Church https://www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/18918?v1=true ; Queen’s University https://www.givetoqueens.ca/donald-daly and York University http://york.imodules.com/DonaldDalyTribute

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Please continue to read below for a biography sketch for Donald J. Daly

Don was born August 23, 1922 in Edmonton, Alberta. He was the second of five children. Jack was the eldest, followed by Don, Iris, Bill and Helen. Jack, Iris and Bill have predeceased Don.

In September of this year Don celebrated his 100th birthday along with Madeleine Daly, his wife of 79 years. The family celebration took place at the Toronto Cricket Club and included: eldest son Eric, wife Catharine who now live in Gravenhurst; son Dennis from Calgary; daughter Maureen and her husband Colin from Don Mills; grandchildren – Eric’s daughters Heather, Colleen, Sheelagh; Dennis’s children Shanna, Nola, Kira; Maureen’s Jonathan, Jacqueline; great-grandchildren include Elise, Philip, Nathalie, Finley and Maeve. Don knew he was the master of this event.

Academic Record: Don started public school in Calgary, but the family moved to Regina when he was in grade 2 and the balance of his public school and high school were completed in Regina. Don completed his B.A. and B.Com. at Queen’s University in Kingston in 1943 at the age of 20. Prizes and scholarships every year at university. Completed a Ph.D. in economics in 1953 at the University of Chicago, the top economics department in the U.S. at that time. Highest grade in micro with Milton Friedman in a class of 50. Highest grade in macro in a class of 200. Second highest grade in statistics in class of 300.

Military Record: Don was in the Royal Canadian Naval Reserve from May 1943 to September 1945. He served in action on convoy duty on the Canadian east coast, and was discharged with the rank of Lieutenant.

A key episode during his service was encountering a German sub in February 1945 just outside Halifax Harbour. As Anti-Submarine officer on the H.M.C.S Stratford he detected a snorkeling sub close to the surface. The Captain rang action stations and dropped depth charges. The submarine dived and fired a torpedo from their rear torpedo tube, and Don advised the Captain to steer a course that would provide a minimum target for the approaching torpedo. The torpedo passed by on the starboard (right) hand side just six feet away. They would all have perished if they had been hit as the North Atlantic was very cold and it was about two hours before four U.S. destroyers arrived from Halifax.

Don has talked about this experience to students as part of the Memory Project since 2000.

Main Career Accomplishments: Don spent 22 years in the Canadian federal government--with the Economics Branch, Department of Trade and Commerce initially, then two years with the Royal Commission on Money and Banking and four years with the Economic Council of Canada.

An important function initially was doing an annual economic forecast. As preparation for that, he visited opposite numbers in Washington and with the Organization for European Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris. The small staff developed the use of seasonally adjusted data and business cycle indicators for Canada. The forecast for 1957 indicated that most indicators showed all the symptoms of a business cycle peak and correctly anticipated a recession. John Diefenbaker, in response to a non-confidence motion by Mike Pearson (the new leader of the Liberal Party) to stimulate the economy, released the secret document and shouted “You had been warned and did nothing”. In a subsequent election the Conservatives won a large majority. It was a successful test of the NBER leading indicators for Canada. The leaders have continued to do well in analyzing the 2007-2009 recession and recovery in Canada. Don became exemplary at predicting recoveries and recessions way ahead of when anyone else anticipated them.

An important study done while with the Economic Council of Canada was Scale and Specialization in Canadian Manufacturing (with two coauthors). It is probably the most quoted and influential of all of his studies. It used a survey of companies (both Canadian owned and U.S. subsidiaries) to provide evidence on Canada’s high cost, low productivity performance in manufacturing. A key recommendation was to support a Canada-U.S. Free Trade Area. This interest in the cost and competitive position of Canadian manufacturing has continued in a series of studies on the adoption of new technology, management, small business and the effect of exchange rates on Canadian manufacturing. Comparative studies on manufacturing in Japan and Mexico were also done.

Don moved to the Business School at York University in 1969 and taught there until retirement. He was active in research and was quite successful in obtaining research funding. The studies on Japan were done while with the Graduate Business School at York University. Don made nine trips to Japan totaling about nine months of time. He had excellent research assistants and stayed at the International House of Japan while in Tokyo. He had good financial assistance from the Canadian government, the Social Science Research Council and the Canada-Japan Trade Center. He had an office in the Canadian Embassy while in Tokyo. He made some plant tours, gave talks on his studies while there and learned a good deal about the Japanese economy and its international trade and comparative costs.

He was one of the productive researchers in the faculty. Including his Ottawa studies, he has published about a dozen books and a hundred articles and chapters in books (sometimes co-authored). He did a 20-page summary of his research and has deposited it and the related articles in the Archives at Queen’s University.

Main Civic Accomplishments: An important civic accomplishment was his contribution to Emmanuel United Church in Ottawa. They were founding members in a new suburb of Ottawa. Don had a variety of roles-treasurer, chairman of Stewards and Clerk of Session. His key task was Chairman of the Building Committee. Photographs of the building were circulated as a model of a Sunday school building. He stayed in touch with the two ministers with whom he worked closely, namely Don Bardwell (now deceased) and the late Bill Blackmore. Special attention was given to leadership training, and this contributed to his later writings on management.

At Forest Grove United Church in Toronto, he was Chairman of a Long-Range Planning Committee which emphasized the importance of lay leadership in the church.

Don was on the Board of Directors at his fishing club for seven years as treasurer, and was also Chairman for one year.

Don and Madeleine have been occasional church attendees, now with the Anglican Church of Canada.