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John Spencer MacDonald spurred a high tech hub with Richmond-based MDA.

Photo courtesy MDA

MDA founder John MacDonald fondly remembered

By Lorraine Graves

Published 4:57 PST, Mon March 2, 2020

Last Updated: 2:02 PST, Tue March 3, 2020

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John MacDonald was a towering figure, both in person and in industry.

Along with Vern Dettwiler, he started MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates, later shorted to MDA.

Richmond-based MDA has fulfilled MacDonald’s dream of creating a company where local science, engineering and technology graduates can do leading edge work. He often said he wanted to stop the brain drain.

MacDonald’s vision has succeeded in spades: MDA has inspired other high tech companies locally, nationally, and internationally.

MacDonald passed away late last year, but he lives on through his sons, grandchildren and many students and staff who remembered him at a recent memorial service. His sons Neil and Jay described him as “an extraordinary man.”

Growing up in Prince Rupert, MacDonald was known for managing the high school basketball team as well as living what he called a “free range childhood,” close to nature.

He became interested in electronics when a ball he was playing with landed on a neighbour’s roof. That neighbour had a radio repair business, which changed MacDonald’s life goal from truck driver to electrical engineer.

From a community where few students go on to post-secondary education, MacDonald graduated from UBC with an engineering degree in 1959. He completed a PhD at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1964.

Each summer, he travelled back and forth by train for work. On one of these trips, he met Dettwiler. In 1965, MacDonald moved back to Vancouver to teach electrical engineering at UBC.

After watching many of his students move to the United States to work, MacDonald teamed up with Dettwiler to create MDA.

Their emphasis is on aerospace, information systems and new technologies. They have always worked to hire locally. Today about half of MDA’s employees are women.

Many pieces of equipment in space today were built and designed by MDA. These include the Canadarm, equipment on Mars rovers, and satellites.

We rely on data from this equipment to guard our coasts, watch for oil spills, guide disaster relief and map environmental effects. One satellite captured a marriage proposal mowed into a wheat field, an MDA engineer noted.

In his late years, MacDonald’s great mind was affected by dementia. The family requests donations to the Alzheimers Society at alzheimer.ca/en/bc to support research to end the debilitating condition.

“John lived in the world of ideas and dreams. He would first imagine what could be and then work backward to make it happen,” said Bob Wilson, a friend and neuroscientist.

“He led a long, productive and inspiring life. With his passion, integrity, great smile and booming laugh, he will be missed by many,” said current MDA president Mike Greenley.

MacDonald’s friend Wilson gestured to the large crowd gathered to remember his legacy. “John will be with us for generations to come.”