LEON NORMAN LEDOHOWSKI

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LEON NORMAN LEDOHOWSKI

March 15, 1944 - August 4, 2025

Leon Norman Ledohowski was born on March 15, 1944, in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He passed away on August 4, 2025, in Winnipeg.

He leaves behind his partner Cindy Carswell, four children: Lea (Ryan), Lindy (Rueban), Lane (Kara), and Laurel, as well as two grandsons: Spencer and Nolan. He is the first of his siblings to join his parents, Walter and Anne, on the other side.

Born in Winnipeg, Leo spent his formative years in Poplarfield, Manitoba. If you knew him, you know that he was full of tales of his youth in Poplarfield. Right up until the end with his palliative care nurses, he was a storyteller.

The family moved first to Broadview and then Yorkton, Saskatchewan. Leo completed his undergraduate degrees (BA in Economics and BComm in Business Administration) at the University of Saskatchewan, earning Distinction and Great Distinction, before heading east for his MBA at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, where he met Joanne Dengis, who he was married to for 35 years. They spent their early years in Ottawa where Leo was a finance and economics professor at Carleton University, with an office in the same building where his son-in-law Rueban would have his office 40 years later. (And Leo’s office was one floor higher; he was never tired of telling Rueban.)

He felt the pull back west and settled in Manitoba, teaching at the University of Manitoba and jumping into the hotel business. With the birth of his first child, Lea, his whole world view changed for the better, and he learned that he loved being a father. His children were one of his greatest joys in life.

By 1975 he joined the hospitality industry full time, and dedicated the next 50 years of his life to making things bigger, better, today, tomorrow for people looking to eat, stay, and play in hotels in Manitoba.

First with Ledohowski Hotels, then Hospitality Corporation of Manitoba, and finally the Canad Inns we know and love, Leo worked to build a business rooted in Manitoba.

And for Leo, this wasn’t just a commercial endeavour. Canad Inns was both his family and an expression of his creativity. He often referred to his business as his painting. Like his family, the company was one of his great loves and accomplishments.

He was also profoundly dedicated to giving back. He believed in building community and doing good by being good.

He has been a long standing member of Manitoba Hotel Association and the Hotel Association of Canada.

In May 2003, Leo received the Distinguished Service Award from the University of Manitoba. This award is conferred by the Board of Governors on the basis of distinguished contributions to Manitoba in areas which are of major interest to the University of Manitoba.

In October 2003, Leo received the FCMA, a designation recognizing outstanding contributions to the management accounting profession, CMA Canada and the community.

In March 2005, Leo was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Business Development Bank of Canada, and in February 2008, Leo was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Bank of Canada, where he worked with Mark Carney, now Canada’s Prime Minister.

Leo served on the Board of Directors for Partners in the Park, which used to oversee the Pavilion Gallery Museum, Leo Mol Sculpture Gardens, and the Lyric Theatre, all at Assiniboine Park. Leo also previously served on the Advisory Committee on Judicial Appointments for the Province of Manitoba, as a member of the Red Tape Commission for the City of Winnipeg, and as a member of the Board of Directors of Destination Winnipeg.

In 2022, he was inducted into the Order of Manitoba for his long serving work in and dedication to the community in his home province.

A proud Ukrainian Canadian, Leo had served as the Honorary Consul for Ukraine in Manitoba, and was honoured many times by the larger Ukrainian Canadian community for his work and service as a Ukrainian Canadian.

He was also an avid traveller. He visited his children in far flung places, including spending a Christmas and New Year’s Eve in Australia with Laurel when she did her Master’s there.

In later years, Leo and Cindy enjoyed traveling, going to exotic places like India and Kenya, but also prosaic places like Ottawa and Toronto.

Cindy holds the memories of enjoying happy hour and listening to symphony music with Leo, both in Winnipeg and Scottsdale. While Leo and Cindy were travellers together, they also loved enjoying their favourite meals in the comfort of home, whether from one of their favourite restaurants or lovingly delivered by members of the Canad Inns team.

Leo took immense pride in his home and gardens - a sanctuary he lovingly created and maintained with care. Cindy shared in helping him tend to them both, where many quiet hours were spent planning, working, and simply enjoying the space across the seasons. And in the winter when his garden was at rest, they enjoyed driving through Canad Inns Winter Wonderland to experience the lights.

That back yard was both a labour of love and a joy for him. He also loved the English Gardens at Assiniboine Park, and if you wander by the fountain, you will find a stone there gifted to him from his four children who spent many a Sunday there with him.

Lucky enough to have one grandchild in the city, only son Lane brought Nolan over for visits nearly every Sunday. Anyone watching the three of them joking would see genetics at work as they all shared the same wonky sense of humour and the same smirk.

Leo was a visionary who has made a huge contribution and impact on this city and province and their people. His legacy is not in the buildings he raised or the business he built, but in the countless lives he touched through generosity, mentorship, and unwavering faith in people. Leo will be remembered as a man who saw possibility where others saw obstacles, who gave back without measure and who inspired all who knew him to dream bigger.

Cancer took Leo on a summer afternoon from the house he had lived in and loved for 34 years. He was surrounded by loved ones and his favourite symphony music playing.

The world is a better place for having had him in it, and his family and Canad family have felt his generosity and love.

Vichnaya Pam’yat!

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Canad Inns Foundation to continue to support the community he loved.

A private burial has taken place at Chapel Lawn, and there will be a Celebration of Life planned for October 2, 2025.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Aug 09, 2025