Sobeys gives $18M to N.S. university

HALIFAX — The Sobey family empire is donating $18 million to Saint Mary’s University — the single largest gift in the school’s history — aiming to boost business education in Atlantic Canada and position the Sobey School of Business to compete with the country’s top commerce faculties.

The donation from the Sobey family, the Sobey Foundation and Sobeys Inc. renews a long-standing philanthropic relationship between the Nova Scotia-based grocery giant and the Halifax university.

The money will go toward attracting top students to the school’s commerce program, expanding its faculty, and a new building dedicated to entrepreneurship and innovation.

Paul Sobey, Saint Mary’s outgoing chancellor and the former head of Empire Co. Ltd. — the Stellarton, N.S.-based parent company of Sobeys Inc. — said the investment “capitalizes on the spirit of entrepreneurship” at the university.

He said the donation will help Saint Mary’s develop the next generation of business leaders, innovators and entrepreneurs.

Saint Mary’s president Robert Summerby-Murray said the donation will allow the university to aim higher, positioning the Sobey School of Business at a national level. He said the donation will help to attract “the brightest and best students and faculty.”