Ted Rogers Jr: 1933-2008

Ted Rogers, chief executive officer of Rogers Communications Inc., the Canadian communications giant whose holdings locally include EZ Rock, The Fox and CKAT, has died at age 75, news reports indicated this morning.

Rogers, one of the wealthiest men in Canada, had been in hospital since late October for an existing heart condition.

Ontario Progressive Conservative Leader John Tory who was once the President and CEO of Rogers Media Inc. released the following statement on Rogers passing.

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Toronto - Ontario Progressive Conservative Party Leader John Tory today issued the following statement regarding the passing of Ted Rogers:

"First and foremost, Ted Rogers was a husband, father, grandfather and brother to his wife Loretta, his children Lisa, Edward, Melinda and Martha, his sister Ann and the entire Rogers family. I extend my heartfelt condolences on the loss of this wonderful man.

"No Canadian of his generation achieved more and gave more back than Ted Rogers. He was a visionary, an entrepreneur and a nationalist. He built one of North America's great companies, created tens of thousands of jobs and was one of our great community builders.

"I first knew him when I was a young man. He had what was then a small company but he had big dreams. I was fortunate enough to watch him achieve many of those dreams through hard work, relentless determination, incredible vision and imagination and feet which always remained firmly planted on the ground.

"No matter how big the company got, how big the successes he enjoyed, Ted Rogers never forgot who he was. He always remained approachable and he never stopped caring about other people - friends, employees and the many fellow Canadians he helped through endless acts of goodness and caring, many of them unseen. The charitable contributions he made together with Loretta were extraordinary, especially in the areas of education and health care.

"Ted Rogers also believed very strongly in the goodness that could be done by the political system and he was a proud and steadfast Conservative. I can personally attest to the fact that he was there on the good days, but more importantly he was there on the difficult days too. I was blessed with his unwavering support and encouragement right up to recent days.

"I was lucky to have known Ted Rogers as my boss, a mentor, a fellow political warrior and most importantly a lifelong friend. If there was anyone who would have chosen to live another 75 years if he could, it would have been Ted Rogers because he still had so much he wanted to do.

"His was a life incredibly well lived and everyone who knew him and millions who didn't are much the better for it.

"People are often described as great Canadians. Ted Rogers represented the gold standard when it comes to great Canadians. He will be sorely missed."

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