Mr. Luigi Aquilini is a quintessential British Columbia success story. Having come to Canada from Italy in the mid-1950s, he started his own construction company, working in East Vancouver during the 1960s and 1970s. In the 1980s, he bought and sold older buildings in Vancouver, Ontario, and Quebec and then began buying land to build new condominium towers.

Through business skill, careful stewardship and strategic moves, Mr. Aquilini built one of Canada’s most successful businesses, Aquilini Investment Group, owning commercial and residential buildings, hotels, farming operations, golf courses, restaurants, a global renewable energy enterprise, and the Vancouver Canucks professional hockey team.

Amidst this success, Mr. Aquilini has been among British Columbia’s most generous philanthropists. He and his wife Elisa have contributed to the building of the Italian Gardens at Hastings Park and created the Aquilini Land Conservancy, a 100-hectare nature preserve in the Fraser Valley.

He along with his three children and 14 grandchildren, have supported causes related to children such as B.C. Children’s Hospital, Juvenile Diabetes Research and the Canucks for Kids Fund. His family formed the Canucks Autism Network.

Mr. Aquilini has been honoured by the President of the Republic of Italy with the extraordinary title “Commendatore.” He currently serves as Vice President of the “Comitato Degli Italiani All’Estero.”