Joseph H. Cohen

Joseph H. Cohen CM OBC LL.D. CStJ (1921 – June 2011), born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, was a Canadian entrepreneur, community builder, philanthropist, and Member of the Order of Canada. He served in the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve from 1944-1945. He was married to the late Frances Cohen (née Belzberg) and was the father of Lori, Bruce (deceased), and Phyllis (Haxby).

Joseph Cohen came from a poor immigrant family of eight, the son of Alexander and Rose (Diamond) Cohen.

Joseph's five brothers, John, Albert D. Cohen, Harry B. Cohen, Morley Cohen, and Samuel N. Cohen, set up a small retail store and, by 1939, the family had scraped together enough monies to create General Distributors Ltd., a wholesale import firm.

By 1950, General Distributors sales amounted to $1 million. In the early Fifties, the company obtained exclusive Canadian rights for Paper Mate pens. Then, in 1955, brother Albert D. Cohen accomplished the most amazing feat of landing the Canadian distribution rights to Sony products. Spotting an ad in a Japanese newspaper seeking a distributor for a new portable transistor radio, Albert met with Sony co-founder, Akio Morita. On the basis of a handshake deal, Albert cemented a partnership that would last for decades. The Cohen brothers scattered across Canada in order to manage the national business, each brother establishing himself in a major city: Morley (Montreal), John (Toronto), Joe (Vancouver), Harry (Calgary), and both Sam and Albert setting up headquarters (Winnipeg).

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