Frank Stronach speaks in Markham, Ont. on May 4, 2011. Public institutions that bear the Canadian industrialist's name are considering of the affiliation after Peel Police laid five charges related to a sexual assault investigation.Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press
Public institutions bearing the name of Frank Stronach are considering their next steps after the auto parts magnate was accused of sexual-assault offences.
Peel Regional Police arrested and charged Mr. Stronach, 91, on Friday with five offences, including rape, indecent assault on a female, forcible confinement and two counts of sexual assault.
Police say the offences are alleged to have taken place from the 1980s to 2023. He is scheduled to appear at a Brampton, Ont., court at a later date. Peel Regional Police Constable Mandeep Khatra said there is more than one victim but declined to provide details.
The charges threaten the legacy of a man who is one of Canada’s foremost industrialists. He arrived in Canada from Austria at the age of 21 in 1954. He soon started his own tool and die shop in a rented garage, and built what became one of the world’s largest auto parts companies, Magna International of Aurora, Ont. Magna today employs 179,000 people in 28 countries.
Mr. Stronach, who left Magna’s board in 2012 after selling his controlling shares for US$863-million, has his name on a few public institutions in Ontario, including a recreation centre and a hospital ward.
University of Toronto last year named him an executive in residence at its Scarborough school of management. The role involves “teaching, mentorship and expertise,” the school said at the time. The U of T said in a statement on Monday the one-year term expires this month and Mr. Stronach has fulfilled his commitment.
Mr. Stronach wrote a regular column in the National Post, which is halted “pending the outcome of the charges,” said Rob Roberts, the Post’s editor-in-chief.
In Aurora, the Stronach Aurora Recreation Complex houses an ice rink, pools and other sports facilities. “The Town of Aurora is aware of the serious charges recently brought against Frank Stronach,” Aurora spokeswoman Carley Smith said. “As this matter is now before the courts, we’ll be monitoring closely to determine appropriate action in the future.”
A spokesman for Newmarket’s Southlake Regional Health Centre declined to say whether there were plans to change the name of the Stronach Regional Cancer Centre. The ward was founded in 2010 with an $8-million donation from Mr. Stronach, who made the largest private contribution. Magna donated $2.5-million in 2022.
Criminal defence lawyer Brian Greenspan said he is representing Mr. Stronach, who “categorically denies the allegations of impropriety which have been brought against him.”
“He looks forward to the opportunity to fully respond to the charges and to maintain his legacy, both as a philanthropist and as an icon of the Canadian business community,” Mr. Greenspan said in a statement.