Ryan Beedie exemplifies the Order’s purpose of recognizing British Columbians who have made significant contributions to making our province a better place to live.

Under his direction, Beedie Development has become the market’s leading industrial developer in western Canada and widely recognized as a reputable residential builder in British Columbia. Beedie Development prides itself in operating a business that lives its motto: Built for Good. Ryan is a leader in B.C.’s business community, and in 2009, he was recognized as Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year in the Pacific Region.

Ryan is making his mark beyond business: he has established himself as one of our leading philanthropists, creating one of the province’s largest post-secondary scholarship foundations, leading fundraising efforts for hospitals, supporting neighbourhood support services, and representing Canada in international efforts to end extreme poverty and preventable disease.

For Ryan, it’s about giving back and building up the communities where he lives and works. That starts with education. He has established Beedie Luminaries, a $50-million scholarship fund for bright, driven students. The creation of the fund was inspired by a belief that education is life-changing and that students from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds should be given an opportunity to fulfill their potential. This past year, the Beedie Luminaries funded 80 students from 43 high schools in B.C. with $40,000 each to pay for their education. The fund will grow to provide scholarships to over 100 students per year.

Beedie Luminaries is the most recent investment in education made by Ryan and the Beedie family. In 2011, they made the largest ever contribution to Simon Fraser University, establishing the Beedie School of Business.

It’s not just education: Ryan chaired the fundraising campaign for the new medical and surgical centre at North Vancouver’s Lions Gate Hospital, raising $100 million in under two years including a $2.5 million personal contribution. He and his wife Cindy have donated more than $1 million to Children’s Circle of Care at B.C. Children’s’ Hospital and sponsored B.C. Children’s’ fundraising efforts. He has also made a substantial contribution to the expansion of Burnaby Hospital.

In 2019, Ryan was named by the Together We Can – Addiction Recovery & Education Society as a Canadian Champion for going “above and beyond to help others.” He sits on the Canadian Board and the Global Leadership Council for the ONE Campaign, a global movement to end extreme poverty and preventable disease by 2030. He is a contributor to the YWCA, the Vancouver Police Foundation, Ronald McDonald House, the St. James Community Service Society, Street to Home, Covenant House Canada, the Sarah McLachlan School of Music and many other charities and foundations.

Ryan has received the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal, was named Association of Fundraising Professionals “Philanthropist of the Year” (2015), received the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade’s 2018 Rix Award for Engaged Corporate Citizenship, and the SFU Service to the Community Alumni Award (2018).