About Michael
Michael J. Elder is an intrepid Canadian entrepreneur and accomplished equestrian with over three decades of experience across private equity, advertising, mobile internet and cloud technology patents, digital banking transactions, hydropower generation, international stock and bond brokerage, real estate and green technology.
Biography
Michael was born on March 16, 1959, at Women’s College Hospital in Toronto, to Jim and Marianne (née Plaxton) Elder. He was delivered by Dr. Bette Stephenson, CEO of the hospital.
Michael hails from five generations of entrepreneurs of Scottish descent. The Elder family enterprise began with Robert Elder Carriage Works Limited, founded in Toronto in 1872. Over time, the business expanded into specialized manufacturing divisions, including truck bodies for the Ford Motor Company.
According to Ancestry.com, Michael is a direct descendant of both William Shakespeare and William Wallace (Braveheart!). The Wallace lineage can be traced back to Elderslie Castle in Scotland, and is coupled with a rich equestrian tradition. Michael’s father competed for Canada at the Olympics seven times, winning gold for the Team Jumping event in 1968 and serving as Canada’s flag bearer in 1972. Michael attended three Olympics, staying in the athletes' village and meeting attendees from around the world — experiences that would later help inspire his vision for a TerraVote.ai, a secure platform that would allow global voting on crucial issues.
Marianne was an excellent dressage rider and horse breeder. She was graduated from the University of Toronto (Trinity College) with honors and was also an oil painter and pianist.
Jim and Marianne established Elderberry Hill Farm on Yonge Street in Aurora, Ontario, which hosted the first grand prix jumping competition in North America in 1961. Michael grew up on this bucolic estate, where hundreds of horses were trained for show jumping, racing, steeplechase, polo, three-day eventing, dressage and fox hunting. Elderberry Hill Farm also hosted the largest pony breeders' show in Canada.
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In the video below, take a tour of yesteryear's Elderberry Hill Farm.
Entrepreneurial Achievements
Michael has continually pushed boundaries across multiple industries. While a university student in 1981, at the age of 22, Michael co-founded Northfield Capital Corporation, making him the youngest chairman of a public company in Canada. Northfield initially focused on oil and gas ventures as well as gold mining in Northern Ontario. When Ontario Hydro first allowed private hydropower ownership, Michael played a pivotal role in initiating and investing in the Black River hydropower project. He helped negotiate one of the first 50-year contracts tied to inflation in the province.
Subsequently, Michael co-founded an Internet financial services company in partnership with a bank and a telecommunications company, pioneering one of the first web-based credit card transaction systems. His focus on innovative technologies also led him to develop patents for Quillmate Mobile, a tablet/cloud platform designed to eliminate paper-based processes, reduce environmental impact, and streamline data management for governments and enterprises. Despite facing commercialization challenges in North America, Quillmate Mobile’s patented technology has garnered international attention, particularly in China, for its potential to save trees and reduce carbon footprints by eliminating paper forms.
In 2007, Michael was invited to the Global 100 CEO Roundtable Dinner and the sustainability awards presentation at the World Economic Forum in Davos, recognizing his commitment to green innovation. In 2013, he addressed a United Nations–sponsored conference at the UN Headquarters in New York, discussing how Quillmate Mobile could deliver environmental benefits for both industrialized and developing nations. (Read his UN speech here.)
Equestrian Highlights
Michael’s passion for horses spans more than 20 years of international show jumping and polo competition for Canada. Riding countless horses across his career, he achieved significant victories, including winning the Rothmans Grand Prix in Toronto. He earned numerous team show jumping medals representing Canada at competitions in Europe, the United States, and Mexico, and took silver at the North American Interscholastic Polo Championships in Pebble Beach, California. Michael also won gold in show jumping at the Prix de Ville of North America for two consecutive years and the individual gold (out of a field of 100 riders) in the second year.
Building on his global equestrian success, Michael co-founded the Canada China Equestrian, Racing & Polo Association (CCERPA) in 2014—the Year of the Horse—with offices in Toronto and Beijing. As Chair, he works to foster collaboration and trade opportunities between Canada and China. (Read the CCERPA white paper here.)
He is also a licensed coach with Equestrian Canada, and received an Achievement Award from the Province of Ontario “in recognition of distinguished performance in the field of amateur sport.”
In the CBC video below, watch Michael take home the gold at his first-ever Grand Prix!
Personal Life
Michael began participating in the Toronto Hunt Club’s opening meet with the hounds when he was eight years old, and has taken part ever since.
He is a proud graduate of St. Andrew's College, the largest private boys' school in Canada. There, he helped found the student newspaper and equestrian team.
Michael was a member of a scientific expedition to a desert island, spending two weeks on a small oceanic island with no food or water as part of their study. He subsequently wrote about the experience and as a result was granted membership in the Explorers Club of New York in 1988. In Mexico, he participated as a matador for a day, successfully outmaneuvering a bull as he ran for safety.
He is an avid volunteer and has served as a committee member for the Shaw Festival, one of the largest theatre companies in North America.
Today, Michael resides in Toronto and is the doting father of two beloved children. He is presently working on his first book, which expands on his vision for TerraVote.ai laid out in this white paper.
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Watch the inspiration video below to see what you can accomplish when you "try, try again!"
