City builder, philanthropist Irv Kipnes 'will leave a lasting legacy in Edmonton'

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It’s hard to go anywhere in Edmonton and not see the Kipnes name.

There’s the Kipnes Centre for Veterans. There’s the Dianne and Irving Kipnes Health Research Academy at the University of Alberta. The Oshry-Kipnes Jewish Community Centre is expected to open by the end of 2026.

Numerous arts organizations have been touched by the Kipnes family, from the Edmonton Opera to Ballet Edmonton to the Citadel Theatre to the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra.

Irv Kipnes made millions as a developer and liquor-chain owner in Edmonton, but he pumped millions back into the city he loved. He and his late wife, Dianne, supported numerous causes, from medical research to the arts to the Jewish community.

Irv Kipnes died earlier this week.

“His generosity, leadership and commitment to strengthening our community will leave a lasting legacy in Edmonton, across Canada, and throughout the Jewish world,” read a statement from the Jewish Federation of Edmonton.

Kipnes was a child growing up in Calgary when the Second World War came to an end. The tribute posted when he was awarded the Alberta Order of Excellence in 2012 stated the boy was so moved by the stories of the Holocaust that he promised himself he’d not take living in Alberta for granted, and would be involved in his community.

He moved to Edmonton to attend the University of Alberta, became a chemical engineer, and got to work. But, on the side, he began investing in real estate, and Delcon Development Group was born soon after. Irv and Dianne Kipnes soon became one of Edmonton’s most recognized power couples and, in later life, would become major players in the world of liquor retail.

Dianne passed in 2024. She and her husband will be remembered for their lasting legacy on the city.

They donated heavily to the Cross Cancer Institute and the Mazankowski Heart Institute. They gave both time and money to arts organizations across the city, from the Art Gallery of Alberta to the Citadel to Edmonton Opera to Ballet Edmonton.

“The Kipnes Foundation is the reason Ballet Edmonton exists,” said Trudy Callaghan, the company’s chair and publisher of Edify. “I am sure that many non-profits in this city feel the same as we do.”

Callaghan said Ballet Edmonton’s first fundraiser was held in the Kipneses’ living room.

And the five-storey Kipnes Tower, which is the beacon that greets visitors to Ottawa’s National Arts Centre, was made possible by a $5 million donation by the Kipnes family.

In 2025, the Kipnes Foundation gave $25 million to the University of Alberta for the research institute which carries the couple’s names. That institute will use artificial intelligence to help transform research into treatments.

“Irving Kipnes lived a life defined by vision, generosity, and an unwavering belief in the power of community,” said Bill Flanagan, University of Alberta president and vice-chancellor. “Together with Dianne, he transformed lives across Edmonton and far beyond — championing discovery, culture, and care with quiet resolve and extraordinary purpose.”

Earlier this year, the foundation gave $5 million to the charity Partners in Health. That organization works in 11 countries to expand and improve public health and champions universal access to care. That gift doubled the Kipnes Foundation’s commitment to the charity.

The Kipneses tried to garner support for a Downtown arts campus (the Downtown Academic and Cultural Centre, or simply the “Galleria”) in 2013. It earned more than $58 million worth of support from city council, but died in 2018 because provincial money wasn’t available and leases could not be secured.

The project would have seen nearly 400,000 square feet of commercial and office space combined with nearly 400,000 square feet dedicated to arts organizations.

“Why do it? Because good enough is not good enough,” Kipnes said at the time. “It’s not just about theatres. It’s about the whole. And theatres are just a part of it.”

The plan would have seen University of Alberta arts programs migrate Downtown. His vision was that the commercial space would drive enough revenue to support fledgling arts groups.

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