Victor S. Buffalo

Victor S. Buffalo

Business & Commerce (2012)

“Real leadership comes from the quiet nudging of an inner voice. It comes from realizing that the time has come to move beyond waiting to doing.”

As one of the guiding forces behind Peace Hills Trust, Victor S. Buffalo led the creation of Canada’s first and largest Aboriginal owned financial institute. The Trust now has eight branches across Canada with 70 per cent of the workforce from Indigenous communities. His determination has since led to the development of Peace Hill Insurance Canada and Samson Lake Louise Mall. A champion of education, he established the Samson Education Trust Fund to provide support to community members for university and training in technical trades. Buffalo was also instrumental in lobbying for and establishing four schools on the Samson and Pigeon Lake reserves. His years of hard work have awarded him an honorary Bachelor of Applied Technology Degree, induction into the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business Hall of Fame, an appointment to the Alberta Order of Excellence and being invested into the Order of Canada.