John Ruddy
Philanthropist
Biography
An Ottawa native, John Ruddy is a former Carleton Ravens cornerback who graduated in 1975 with a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture. Ruddy is president of Trinity Development Group and a partner in Ottawa Sports and Entertainment.
He has been passionate about football all his life. He played minor, high school and university football and was an Ottawa Rough Riders season ticket holder for many years. As a partner in the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group, Ruddy was instrumental in working with the city on the $400-million redevelopment of Lansdowne Park and the return of the Canadian Football League.
In addition to backing the CFL Redblacks, he generously supports Carleton Ravens football and was instrumental in resurrecting the university team in 2013 with a $2.5-million donation.
“Football provides an opportunity for students to harmoniously become involved in academics and athletics, an opportunity for the student community to feel united and proudly promote the spirit of Carleton University,” says Ruddy. “I was fortunate to experience this during my Architecture studies at Carleton while playing Ravens football and I’m proud that another generation of Carleton students will also have this experience.”
He has been active in Canada’s retail development industry for more than 35 years. He founded Trinity in 1992 to capitalize on emerging large-format retail centres. Since its inception, Trinity has developed more than 20 million square feet of retail space across Canada. The company operates out of offices in Ottawa and Toronto.
Ruddy is well-known for his broad philanthropic support of the community through the Trinity Development Foundation, which focuses on youth education and sport, care of seniors, community programming and the arts.
He has also endowed the John E. Ruddy, BArch/75 Architecture Scholarship awarded annually to an outstanding student entering the Master of Architecture program at Carleton.
