Windfall: Viola MacMillan and Her Notorious Mining Scandal - Softcover

Tim Falconer

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1770419950 ISBN 13: 9781770419957

Publisher: Ecw Press, 2025

Synopsis

Viola MacMillan had it all: success, money, and respect. Influence, even. But in 1964, after three decades in the mining industry, one of the most fascinating women in Canadian business history was the central character in one of the country's most famous stock scandals. MacMillan, who started out as a prospector in the '30s, had developed lucrative mines and put together big deals. But she still wanted 'a major discovery.' Early in July 1964, shares in Windfall Oil and Mines, a company she and her husband controlled, traded for around 56 cents. Then one day, the stock took off. In the absence of any information from the company about what it had found near Timmins on its claims, rumours and greed pushed the share price to a high of 5.70USD. MacMillan stayed quiet. Finally, after three weeks, Windfall admitted it had nothing. So many small investors lost money when the stock crashed that the Ontario government appointed a royal commission to examine what had happened, which led to changes at the Ontario Securities Commission and the Toronto Stock Exchange. Although MacMillan spent a few weeks in prison, she later received a pardon and the Order of Canada.

About this title

About the Author

Tim Falconer's last two books - Bad Singer: The Surprising Science of Tone Deafness and How We Hear Music and Klondikers: Dawson City's Stanley Cup Challenge and How a Nation Fell in Love with Hockey - made the Globe and Mail's top 100. He lives in Toronto, ON.

Edition details

• Publisher: Ecw Press
• Publication date: 2025
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1770419950
• ISBN 13: 9781770419957
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 320