Simon McTavish (c.1750 – 6 July 1804), of Montreal was a Scottish-born fur trader and the chief founding partner of the North West Company.

[4] Apparently changing his name to 'Fraser' so as to escape the authorities, Simon's father went with the regiment to Nova Scotia and fought for the British at the Battle of Louisburg, where he was severely wounded and left.

Having found an apprenticeship with a Scots merchant at New York,[clarification needed] McTavish recognized the opportunities offered by the fur trade.

Over the next few years, McTavish prospered in the trading of furs, and in 1773, with a new partner, James Bannerman, he extended his operations to Grand Portage on Lake Superior.

In 1775–76, McTavish had the great fortune to winter at Detroit, well stocked with trade goods for the next season, he made an expedition with George McBeath.

The vertical integration of the business was extended in 1792, when the firm of McTavish, Fraser and Company was established in London itself, to procure the trade goods at source and sell the furs.

From his headquarters in Montreal, over the next sixteen years McTavish built a business empire that stretched from the Labrador coast to the Rocky Mountains and in the process made himself a wealthy man.

The HBC had rejected the Nor’Westers’ request for the right to bring in goods via Hudson Bay, so at a great cost of £45,000 McTavish sent two expeditions to establish footholds for the NWC.

These actions did not bring the desired effect and the NWC also failed in receiving a charter from the British government, leaving just one alternative — an attempt to purchase a majority of the shares in the HBC.

In 1802 he purchased the seigneury of Terrebonne where he built two modern flour-mills and a bakery and established a sawmill, encouraging other entrepreneurs to begin the manufacturing of wooden barrels.

In 1785, Dugald's son and heir, Lachlan, was forced to sell the Dunardry estate, which had for many centuries been the ancestral home of the Chiefs of Clan MacTavish.

John's elder brother, William MacTavish, 21st Chief of the Clan, also entered the fur-trade, working for the HBC and becoming Governor of Rupert's Land and Assiniboia.

A monument stands to their four surviving children at Chiswick Parish Church: Simon McTavish died in Montreal in 1804, leaving an estate of £125,000.