Talk:Ralph Sultan

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Paid editing disclosure

I am a paid contributor editing this article on behalf of Ralph Sultan. I disclose this in accordance with Wikipedia's paid contribution disclosure policy. My Wikipedia username is Parankapur. Parankapur (talk) 04:00, 9 June 2026 (UTC)

Requested updates and expansion of Ralph Sultan biography

• What I think should be changed (include citations):

Extended content

I am a paid editor (disclosure above). I propose the following additions to the Ralph Sultan article. All new sections should be inserted between the existing intro paragraphs and the existing Electoral record section. The Electoral record section should also be expanded with three missing elections.

The intro paragraphs should also be updated to reflect his full background, not just his political career. Here's an updated intro:

Ralph Sultan (born June 6, 1933) is a Canadian economist, academic, businessman, and politician, who served as the Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for the community of West Vancouver-Capilano in British Columbia from 2001 to 2020. He is the oldest person ever elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, having won his fifth consecutive term in 2017 at age 83.

A member of the British Columbia Liberal Party, he was first elected in 2001 and re-elected in 2005, 2009, 2013 and 2017.

Sultan served as Minister of State for Seniors (2012–2013), Minister Responsible for Multiculturalism (2013), and Minister of Advanced Education, Innovation and Technology (2013). He was previously a member of the Select Standing Committee on Public Accounts. He decided to retire rather than run in the 2020 British Columbia general election.

Prior to his political career, Sultan held a PhD in Economics from Harvard University, where he was a Baker Scholar and Ford Foundation Fellow, and served as Associate Professor at Harvard Business School. He subsequently held senior roles at the Royal Bank of Canada and in the mining and investment sectors.

New sections to add:

Early life

Ralph George Martin Sultan was born on June 6, 1933, in Vancouver, British Columbia, the youngest of eight children of Swedish immigrants John Edward Sultan, originally of Grästorp, Sweden, and Selma Matilda Eriksson, of Sunnantorp, Sweden. The family settled in the Mt. Pleasant district of East Vancouver, where John Sultan operated a house painting business during the Depression years.

Sultan attended Florence Nightingale Public School in East Vancouver and King Edward High School in Vancouver, graduating in 1951. Before attending university, he worked in a variety of roles including as a house painter with the family business, a tree faller, a lineman on the construction of the Kemano-Kitimat electrical transmission line, a surveyor's helper on the Lillooet and Bridge River hydroelectric projects, and as a soils technician for Ripley Klohn Leonoff of Vancouver. His brother Paul Sultan (1924–2019) was a labour economist whose early work pioneered the graphical representation of the relationship between inflation and unemployment, later known as the Phillips curve.

Sultan married Shirley Anne Steele on June 23, 1956. Shirley Sultan graduated from the Vancouver General Hospital School of Nursing in 1955, and received her Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Nursing Science from Boston University in 1963 and 1964. She served as instructor in surgical nursing at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, as Director of Quality Assurance at Montreal General Hospital, and as owner-manager of the Columbia Centre for Integrated Health Services in Toronto. She was also employed by McMaster University in the appraisal of Ontario nursing home facilities. She died suddenly on July 28, 1999. The couple had four children: Nels, Kirsten, Christina, and Karla.

Following Shirley's death, Sultan entered provincial politics, winning the West Vancouver-Capilano seat for the BC Liberal Party in 2001.

Education

Sultan enrolled at the University of British Columbia in 1951, graduating in 1956 with a Bachelor of Applied Science in Mechanical Engineering. At UBC he received the Cayley Prize in English and the Engineering Institute of Canada prize for an essay on the construction of the Kitimat-Kemano electrical transmission line. He served as president of the Engineering Undergraduate Society.

Following graduation, Sultan worked as a technical sales representative for Linde Air Products, a division of Union Carbide Corporation in Tonawanda, New York, where he specialised in new product applications including silicone rubber gasketing for the Avro Arrow military aircraft project, tungsten carbide turbine blade coatings for the Rolls-Royce Dart engine, and bulk oxygen installations.

In 1958, Sultan enrolled at Harvard University's Graduate School of Business Administration, graduating in 1960 with an MBA with High Distinction. He was named a Baker Scholar, the designation awarded to the top students in the graduating class.

During his MBA studies at Harvard, Sultan was employed as a trainee by Atlas Copco at their compressed air drilling and mine equipment facility in Stockholm, Sweden.

Sultan subsequently enrolled in Harvard's Graduate School of Arts and Sciences on a Ford Foundation Fellowship, receiving his Master of Arts in 1963 and Doctor of Philosophy in Economics in 1964. His doctoral fields of study included money and banking, econometrics, and mathematical economics. His doctoral thesis was titled "An Econometric Analysis of the Demand for Consumer Capital Goods".

Academic career

Prior to completing his doctoral degree at Harvard, Sultan was appointed Assistant Professor at Harvard Business School, subsequently rising to the rank of Associate Professor. He taught and conducted research at Harvard from the early 1960s until 1973.

While at Harvard, Sultan initiated the Profit Impact of Market Strategies (PIMS) project, a large-scale empirical study of the relationship between market share and business profitability. Working with General Electric researcher Dr. Sidney Schoeffler, the project studied firms across 54 American industries. The project was conducted at Harvard Business School between 1972 and 1974, after which it was taken over by the Strategic Planning Institute (SPI), a nonprofit organization based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The project's key finding was that market share and return on investment are tightly correlated regardless of the size, sector, or product category of the firm studied.

In 1975, Sultan co-authored with Robert D. Buzzell and Bradley T. Gale the Harvard Business Review article "Market Share: A Key to Profitability", reporting the key findings of the PIMS project. The article has been widely cited in marketing strategy and business literature and continues to be referenced in academic research worldwide.

Publications

Sultan's published works include:

• Problems in Marketing (McGraw-Hill, 1968), co-authored with Harvard Business School professors Milton Brown, Richard Cardozo, Scott Cunningham, and Walter Salmon. The textbook, which reached its fourth edition, compiled case studies on pricing strategy, indicative of widespread classroom adoption.

• Pricing in the Electrical Oligopoly, Volume One: Competition or Collusion (Division of Research, Graduate School of Business Administration, Harvard University, 1973; distributed by Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts and London, England). Based on Sultan's study of pricing behaviour and antitrust implications arising from the conduct of General Electric, Westinghouse, and Allis-Chalmers in the electrical machinery industry, drawing on the case Ohio Valley Electric Corp. v. General Electric Co.

• Pricing in the Electrical Oligopoly, Volume Two: Business Strategy (Division of Research, Graduate School of Business Administration, Harvard University, 1974; distributed by Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts and London, England). A companion volume presenting Sultan's econometric model of competitive strategy in the steam turbine electrical generator market.

• "Market Share: A Key to Profitability" (Harvard Business Review, January 1975), co-authored with Robert D. Buzzell and Bradley T. Gale.

• "Papers on the 1977 Bank Act Revision: A Comment," Canadian Public Policy, 1977.

• "Canada's Recent Experiment in the Repatriation of American Capital," Canadian Public Policy, October 1982.

• "From Ivory Towers to Permeable Membranes: Higher Education's Challenge to Competitive Realities," co-authored with Paul E. Sultan, Industry and Higher Education, Volume 4, Issue 1, March 1990.

• "The Changing Role of the Private Member in British Columbia," Canadian Parliamentary Review, 2003.

Business career

In 1973, Sultan left Harvard to join the Royal Bank of Canada as Chief Economist. Over nearly ten years, he rose through successive appointments including Senior Vice President of Marketing, Chair of the Asset Liability Policy Committee, member of the Chief General Manager's operating committee, and Senior Vice President of Global Energy and Minerals, based in Calgary with offices worldwide.

Sultan subsequently became Executive Vice President of Anglo American Corporation's North American holding company, Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting Company, in 1981.

He later served as Director of Investments at the J.W. McConnell Foundation from 1982. During this period, Sultan and a UBC classmate bid for and purchased the Faro lead-zinc mine in Yukon, at the time one of the world's largest lead-zinc mining operations. Sultan served as Vice-Chair of Curragh Resources, which acquired the Faro mine property in 1985.

Sultan subsequently served as President of Northern Investors Inc (established 1984), an investment firm based in Etobicoke, Ontario.

Sultan was also a founding principal of Anvil Range Mining Corporation, incorporated on February 18, 1994, which subsequently acquired and operated the Faro mine properties from 1994 until the company entered receivership in 1998.

Sultan's subsequent business activities included serving as Chairman of Financial Trust Company, President of a mutual fund company, President of an investment counsel firm, President of a forestry company and joint venture with the Bechtel Corporation involving the Williams Lake Fibreboard Company in Williams Lake, British Columbia, and Director of Discovery Enterprises Inc., Vancouver, British Columbia. He also held director and officer positions in the insurance sector and served as Chair of a Canadian-French nuclear-powered submersible joint venture.

Sultan also consulted for global corporations operating in the fields of oil and gas, carbonated beverages, electrical machinery, and computers.

Appointments and public service

Sultan registered as a professional engineer (P.Eng.) in British Columbia and Ontario, maintaining his registration with the Association of Professional Engineers of Ontario (APEO) for over 53 years, and also holding registration in Quebec and Alberta.

He arranged for the endowment of a professorship in mining engineering at UBC in 1990.

Outside of his academic and business roles, Sultan served as a member of the Economic Council of Canada from 1978 to 1985, Chair of the Queen's University School of Business Advisory Council from 1985 to 1987, and Chair of the Financial Research Foundation from 1983 to 1986. He served on the Harvard University Advisory Committee on Graduate Education, and as a fundraiser for Harvard Business School from 1968 to 1994. He also served as executive secretary of the Eagle Harbour Yacht Club in Vancouver.

Political career

Sultan supported British Columbia Liberal Party leaders Gordon Campbell, Christy Clark, and Andrew Wilkinson across his five terms in the Legislature of British Columbia. In addition to his ministerial roles in charge of Seniors and Advanced Education, he served on the Select Standing Committees on Public Accounts, Legislative Review, and Finance. He chaired or participated in investigative task forces on childhood poverty, childhood obesity, securities regulation, steelhead survival, and mining. He also served as Chair of the Government Caucus Committee for the Economy.

Sultan advocated for the expansion of Lions Gate Hospital, which was publicly quoted in a 2017 BC Government news release announcing that the hospital's concept plan had been approved. Sultan was also involved in announcing a joint federal-provincial investment of approximately $2 million to upgrade Capilano Road in North Vancouver. He also worked on the upgrade of Highway 99 (the Sea to Sky Highway) between Vancouver and Whistler in preparation for the 2010 Winter Olympics, a project that cost approximately $600 million and was completed in 2009.

Sultan sponsored the Sea to Sky University Act, which established Quest University Canada in Squamish, British Columbia, as the first private secular university in Canada. He worked closely with David Strangway, former president of the University of British Columbia, in developing the institution, and has been described as instrumental in the university's creation. Quest later received the highest undergraduate student engagement rating of any university in Canada, according to the 2009 National Survey of Student Engagement, before entering creditor protection under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act.

Following his retirement from politics, Sultan continued to advocate for accountability regarding Quest University's assets and financial transactions, including delivering a speech at the institution's final graduation ceremony, commenting on the regrettable intervention of actors who contributed to the closing of the university.

Honours

Sultan received the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal in 2002, the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012, and the King Charles III Coronation Medal in 2025, in recognition of his contributions to public service in British Columbia.

And the three new electoral record templates:

{{British Columbia provincial election, 2009/West Vancouver-Capilano}}

{{British Columbia provincial election, 2005/West Vancouver-Capilano}}

{{British Columbia provincial election, 2001/West Vancouver-Capilano}}

Also update the infobox image from Ralph Sultan 2013.jpg to Ralph Sultan 2026.jpg. Change caption "Sultan in 2013" to caption "Sultan in 2026"

Also suggest adding one new external link:

• "Market Share: A Key to Profitability", Harvard Business Review, January 1975

• Why it should be changed:

The current article focuses primarily on Ralph Sultan's political career and omits much of his notable academic, business, and professional background. Prior to entering provincial politics, Sultan earned degrees in engineering and economics from the University of British Columbia and Harvard University, served as an Associate Professor at Harvard Business School, worked as Chief Economist and Senior Vice President at the Royal Bank of Canada, and held senior positions in the mining and investment sectors. These aspects of his career are documented in reliable published sources and are relevant to providing readers with a more complete and balanced biography.

The proposed changes also update the lead section to better summarize Sultan's career, add sourced information about his early life, education, academic work, business career, publications, honours, and public service activities, and update the electoral record to include three provincial elections currently omitted from the article. The requested image update would replace an older photograph with a more recent image, subject to licensing and Commons requirements.

• References supporting the possible change (format using the "cite" button):

References are included inline throughout the proposed text using citations. Sources include records from the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Harvard Business Review, University of British Columbia alumni and faculty profiles, Who's Who in Canada, Canadian Parliamentary Review, Governor General of Canada honours records, North Shore News, and other published sources as cited above. Where appropriate, editors are encouraged to review the reliability and suitability of individual sources in accordance with Wikipedia's sourcing guidelines.

References

Parankapur (talk) 21:54, 14 June 2026 (UTC)

Reply 27-JUN-2026

  Edit request declined  

• There's too much grabbing text from sources while haphazardly closeparaphrasing it. The information concerning the wife, for example, is lifted straight out of her obituary.

Regards,  Spintendo  15:15, 27 June 2026 (UTC)

Revised COI edit request: Ralph Sultan biography

I am a paid editor, as disclosed above. This revised request supersedes the earlier declined request regarding proposed updates to the Ralph Sultan article. The previous request was declined under WP:CLOSEPARAPHRASE. The proposed text below has been substantially rewritten, shortened, and reorganized to avoid close paraphrasing from the cited sources. Several details from the earlier draft have also been removed to keep the article more concise and encyclopedic.

• What I think should be changed (include citations):

I propose updating the lead and adding concise biographical sections before the existing Electoral record section. I also propose adding three missing election-result templates to the Electoral record section and updating the infobox image to the current Commons image.

Proposed updated lead:

Ralph Sultan (born June 6, 1933) is a Canadian economist, academic, businessman and politician who served as the Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for the electoral district of West Vancouver-Capilano in British Columbia from 2001 to 2020. In 2017, at age 83, he became the oldest person elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia.

A member of the British Columbia Liberal Party, Sultan was first elected in the 2001 provincial election and was re-elected in 2005, 2009, 2013 and 2017. He served as Minister of State for Seniors, Minister Responsible for Multiculturalism, and Minister of Advanced Education, Innovation and Technology. He did not seek re-election in the 2020 British Columbia general election.

Before entering politics, Sultan studied engineering at the University of British Columbia and business and economics at Harvard University. He taught at Harvard Business School and later held senior roles at the Royal Bank of Canada and in the mining and investment sectors.

Proposed new section: Early life and education

Sultan was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, on June 6, 1933, the son of John Sultan and Selma Eriksson.

Sultan graduated from the University of British Columbia in 1956 with a degree in mechanical engineering. At UBC, he served as president of the Engineering Undergraduate Society and received the Cayley Prize in English.

Sultan received an MBA with High Distinction from Harvard Business School in 1960 and was named a Baker Scholar. He later received an MA and PhD in economics from Harvard, where he was supported by a Ford Foundation Fellowship.

Sultan married Shirley Anne Steele in 1956. The couple had four children. Shirley Sultan died in 1999.

Proposed new section: Academic and business career

Sultan taught at Harvard Business School, where he became an Associate Professor. His academic work included the Profit Impact of Market Strategy project and research on pricing behaviour in the electrical machinery industry. In 1975, he co-authored with Robert D. Buzzell and Bradley T. Gale the Harvard Business Review article "Market Share: A Key to Profitability", which reported findings from the PIMS project.

Sultan later joined the Royal Bank of Canada, where he served as Chief Economist and later as Senior Vice President for Global Energy and Minerals. He subsequently held senior roles in mining and investment, including with Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting Company, the J.W. McConnell Foundation and Northern Investors Inc.

Sultan was also involved in mining ventures connected to the Faro mine in Yukon. According to a Yukon government ownership history, he was among the principals of the investor group that established Anvil Range Mining Corporation in 1994. The company later reached an agreement to acquire Curragh's Faro and Whitehorse mining assets.

Sultan was registered as a professional engineer.

Selected publications

• Pricing in the Electrical Oligopoly, Volume One: Competition or Collusion.
• Pricing in the Electrical Oligopoly, Volume Two: Business Strategy.
• "Market Share: A Key to Profitability", co-authored with Robert D. Buzzell and Bradley T. Gale.
• "The Changing Role of the Private Member in British Columbia", published in the Canadian Parliamentary Review in 2003.

Proposed new section: Political career

Sultan was elected MLA for West Vancouver-Capilano in 2001 and was re-elected in 2005, 2009, 2013 and 2017. During his time in the legislature, he served on committees including Public Accounts and held ministerial responsibilities for seniors, multiculturalism, and advanced education, innovation and technology.

Sultan sponsored the Sea to Sky University Act, which led to the creation of Quest University Canada in Squamish. After the university’s closure, Sultan was among those calling for greater scrutiny of its financial history. In 2026, The Squamish Chief reported that Sultan had continued to call for action on the matter, including in remarks at Quest’s final graduation ceremony.

Sultan decided not to run in the 2020 provincial election.

Proposed new section: Honours

Sultan received the King Charles III Coronation Medal in 2025.

Electoral record update

Please add the following existing election templates to the Electoral record section, as the article currently omits the 2001, 2005 and 2009 provincial elections:

• {{British Columbia provincial election, 2009/West Vancouver-Capilano}}
• {{British Columbia provincial election, 2005/West Vancouver-Capilano}}
• {{British Columbia provincial election, 2001/West Vancouver-Capilano}}

Infobox image update

Please update the infobox image from Ralph Sultan 2013.jpg to Ralph Sultan 2026.jpg, and update the caption from "Sultan in 2013" to "Sultan in 2026". The newer image is available on Wikimedia Commons at commons:File:Ralph Sultan 2026.jpg.

• Why it should be changed:

The current article provides relatively little information about Ralph Sultan's academic, professional, and business career prior to entering provincial politics. The proposed additions are intended to provide a more balanced biographical overview using material supported by reliable published sources. The request also updates the lead so it better summarizes Sultan's career, adds three missing electoral-record templates, and updates the infobox photograph to a more recent freely licensed image already available on Wikimedia Commons.

The proposed additions have been substantially revised in response to the previous edit request, which was declined over concerns relating to WP:CLOSEPARAPHRASE. This submission has been rewritten from the underlying facts rather than the wording of the sources, with biographical sections shortened, prose rewritten throughout, and résumé-style detail removed. Several claims have also been re-sourced or omitted where stronger verification could not be provided.

• References supporting the possible change:

References are included inline throughout the proposed text.

References

Parankapur (talk) 00:26, 12 August 2026 (UTC)