Stewart Blusson has long been celebrated as the charitable donor who made possible the establishment of the now defunct, Quest University, located in Squamish, B.C.
In 2016, when Blusson was inducted into the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame, he was specifically credited for having donated $100 million towards Quest University. Likewise, when Blusson was awarded the Order of Canada, he was credited with having made a significant gift towards Quest (then known as Sea to Sky University).
In December of 2023, when it was discovered that Stewart Blusson is the beneficial owner of two large sections of Quest's original land (Parcel A & Lot 12), letters were written to Mr. & Mrs. Blussons in order to request a meeting with them to discuss the possibility of a donation of the land towards the re-start of Quest or a similar program that would advance the innovative academic model that Quest had pioneered.
Letters were sent to the Blussons by Ralph Sultan, Peter Gordon and Vivian Krause.
- Ralph Sultan is the former, long-time Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, representing the riding of West Vancouver-Capilano. Prior to serving as MLA, Ralph was Professor at the Harvard University School of Business Administration and subsequently a Senior Vice-President of the Royal Bank of Canada. In 2001, working with Dr. David Strangway, then the President of the University of British Columbia, Ralph introduced the Sea to Sky Act which created the legislative framework for Quest and gave the university the right to confer degrees.
- Peter Gordon is a long-time resident of Squamish and principal of Cascadia Consulting Ltd. As an active member of the Squamish community, Peter attended some of the original community meetings (2001-2007) at which the start-up of the university was discussed. Peter has served Squamish as a former coroner and as a member of several committees on issues ranging from the hospital to seniors housing.
- Vivian Krause is the author of this blog.
Much to our surprise, Mr. & Mrs. Blusson replied, through their lawyer, that they have "no desire to revive Quest University." Coming from Mr. Blusson who supposedly donated $100 million towards Quest, this response was quite the shock. This prompted me to dig deeper to try to figure out why Mr. Blusson would have no interest in supporting something to which he had supposedly given $100 million.
For a copies of all letters sent to Dr. & Mrs. Blusson and the reply from their lawyer, Marilyn Yiu, and other documents pertaining to this post, click here.
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