Our History
Duncan Jessiman, the son of Scottish immigrants who met on a ship bound for Canada, grew up in a family rooted in hard work. His father, Peter Jessiman, operated Jessiman Bros. Cartage, a local cartage and warehouse operation in Winnipeg, Manitoba. After completing his university education, Duncan set out to carve his own path in business, founding Bison Transport in 1969. The name Bison was a suggestion from Duncan’s brother Bill Jessiman. The bison is symbolic of pioneering spirit and Manitoba’s heritage.
The company began with a focus on hauling construction related products before moving into general freight with the purchase of R.C. Owen Transport, the largest hauler of paper for Newsprint. Throughout the 1970’s, Bison had deals with both Eaton’s and Sears as well as a subsidiary called Letter Lassie which delivered courier packages throughout Winnipeg. By the late 1980s, deregulation had transformed the Canadian trucking industry, providing new opportunities for cross-border market access between the U.S. and Canada. Duncan recognized this as an exceptional opportunity for expansion and growth.
Duncan’s son, Peter Jessiman, joined Bison Transport in 1990 and became instrumental to the company’ growth. He moved Bison into the post-consumer scrap-paper market and played a key role in adding Walmart to Bison’s roster of clients.
Over the years, Bison acquired Echo Transport, Glencoe Transport, Britton Transport, Searcy Trucking, and H.O Wolding. While the head office remained in Winnipeg, terminals were opened in Calgary, Mississauga, Langley, Regina, and Edmonton. Eventually, Bison grew to become the largest privately owned transportation and logistics firm in Canada, serving the entire North American marketplace.
In 2015, ownership of Bison was transitioned to Peter and Heather Jessiman and in 2019, Bison celebrated 50 years of business.
After the sale of Bison to James Richardson & Sons Ltd. in 2020, the Jessiman family established the JFII Family Office in Winnipeg, Manitoba with Peter Jessiman serving as the CEO and Heather Jessiman as Managing Partner. In concert with JFII is the Jessiman Foundation, which all family members across three generations are passionately involved in. We actively give back in our respective communities and believe we can play an important role in supporting innovative not-for-profit organizations across a wide variety of causes.
