{"id":679884,"date":"2026-05-19T15:32:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T15:32:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/679884\/"},"modified":"2026-05-19T15:32:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T15:32:11","slug":"robert-k-irving-dies-at-71","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/679884\/","title":{"rendered":"Robert K. Irving dies at 71"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Text<\/p>\n

Listen to this article<\/p>\n

Estimated 3 minutes<\/p>\n

The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.<\/p>\n

A leading member of New Brunswick’s Irving family has died. <\/p>\n

Robert K. Irving of Moncton, the co-CEO of J.D. Irving Ltd., died Tuesday. His death was announced by the family in a news release. <\/p>\n

“It is with profound sadness that the family of Robert\u00a0Kenneth\u00a0Irving mark his passing today in Moncton, New Brunswick, following a courageous battle with cancer,” the statement said.<\/p>\n

Robert Irving led J.D. Irving with his brother, Jim Irving. The company is a major employer in the province with forestry, retail, transportation and consumer products divisions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The 71-year-old was also president of Cavendish Farms headquartered in Dieppe. The company operates plants in Prince Edward Island, Ontario, Alberta and North Dakota.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The company is P.E.I.\u2019s largest private-sector employer and one of the island\u2019s largest landowners. It describes itself as North America\u2019s fourth largest producer of frozen potato products. <\/p>\n

Robert Irving owned the Moncton Wildcats team, which plays in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. <\/p>\n

Robert Irving was the owner of the Moncton Wildcats. (CBC)<\/p>\n

Robert Irving was born Dec. 3, 1954, in Saint John to James Kenneth Irving and Jean Elizabeth Saunders Irving. He was the grandson of K.C. Irving.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He graduated from Acadia University in Nova Scotia with a business degree.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The family statement says he established J.D. Irving’s Moncton operations in 1977 and has called the area home since then.<\/p>\n

“He was proud to represent the fifth generation in the family business. He considered himself fortunate to share both the daily challenges and long-term vision of the business with his brother Jim.”<\/p>\n

\"ARobert K. Irving, left, shown during a tour of an Irving Tissue plant in 2015. (CBC)<\/p>\n

He was married to Jill Irving for nearly 40 years and had four children and four grandchildren. <\/p>\n

He was a member of the New Brunswick Business Hall of Fame, the Canadian Agriculture Hall of Fame, and the P.E.I. Business Hall of Fame. He was named a recipient of the Order of Moncton in 2020 and Order of New Brunswick in 2024.<\/p>\n

The City of Moncton said<\/a> the\u00a0businesses he led employed more than 2,000 people in the Greater Moncton area. <\/p>\n

The Order of New Brunswick description says he led various fundraisers, including chairing capital campaigns for the Friends of the Moncton Hospital Foundation, which helped raise more than $20 million. <\/p>\n

Underwent treatment last year<\/p>\n

In September 2025, the Canadian Press reported Irving was being treated for cancer.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A spokesperson told the news service that Irving had surgery for cancer on July 29 and was undergoing treatment.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The type of cancer, and where Irving was being treated, was not disclosed.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The statement Tuesday said funeral arrangements will be announced later.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to this article Estimated 3 minutes The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":679885,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[45,49,48],"class_list":["post-679884","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-ca","tag-canada"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/679884","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=679884"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/679884\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/679885"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=679884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=679884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=679884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}