A Hundred Years On A Handshake

A Hundred Years On A Handshake: The lively history of M. Sullivan & Son Limited 1914-2014 by Brian Hanington

“You’d be nuts not to ask the Sullivans to bid…”

In 1924, the year of its tenth anniversary, M. Sullivan & Son logged a paltry $5,012 in revenues, but by its hundredth anniversary in 2014 the firm was routinely driving over $100 million in annual sales having generated a staggering total of 6,300 years employment for construction workers in the Ottawa Valley, Kingston, Cape Breton and elsewhere.

Far beyond the considerable economic impact, the tale of the Sullivans is that of a quintessential Canadian family doing business by staying tough as nails in its dealings, and fiercely loyal to its people. Confident, vocal, expert and tireless, the Sullivans have over a century become and influence as deep as any on the Canadian business landscape.

A Hundred Years On A Handshake reveals what it took to turn one man’s obsession into a multi-generational legacy as larger-than-life characters deeply rooted in old-world ethics helped shape the unique way business is done in Canada.

ISBN: 978-1-77123-072-8 (softcover) – Published 2014 Second Printing 2026