He was responsible for building the Royal York Hotel and RMS Empress of Britain, and later helped establish Canadian Pacific Air Lines.

Henry Beatty was described as "a man of unusual executive ability and vision",[1] qualities that his son, Edward, inherited in no small dose.

On the retirement of the CPR's Lord Shaughnessy in 1918, Beatty was chosen to be his successor as president and executive chief of the world's greatest transportation system, just before his 41st birthday.

He was the first Canadian-born president of the CPR, a position he held until his death in 1943, and assumed the monumental task of managing the destiny of the great railway and steamship line.

During his term as president, Beatty was involved in building the Royal York Hotel, the RMS Empress of Britain II and Canadian Pacific Airlines.

Amateur Athletic Union of Canada president Jack Hamilton appointed Beatty chairman of the committee to oversee preparations for the Canadian delegation to the 1938 British Empire Games.

[3] On the outbreak of World War II, Beatty had the CPR "fighting fit" and he placed its full resources at the disposal of the country and the British Empire, and it delivered.

From 1939 until the end of 1941, Beatty was Canadian representative for the Ministry of War Transport of the United Kingdom, charged with getting supplies to the battle zones.

Two years previously, Lord Baden-Powell presented him with the Order of the Silver Wolf, the highest honorary award possible on behalf of the Boy Scouts Association of Canada, for which he had served as president.