Sir William Cornelius Van Horne, KCMG (February 3, 1843 – September 11, 1915) was an American businessman, industrialist and railroad magnate who spent most of his career in Canada.

Van Horne was responsible for launching the sea transport division of the CPR, which inaugurated regular service between Vancouver and Hong Kong in 1891.

In 1882, Van Horne was appointed general manager of the Canadian Pacific Railway, becoming its vice-president in 1884 and president in 1888, finally becoming chairman of the board in 1899.

From 1885 onward, Van Horne was more and more associated with every branch of Canadian mercantile and financial life, and as a publicist gave expression to his views on political and economic questions.

[3] Van Horne was responsible for launching the sea transport division of the Canadian Pacific Railway, inaugurating a regular service between Vancouver and Hong Kong in 1891 on the Empress luxury liners.

He also presided over the expansion of the CPR into the luxury hotel business and participated in the design of two of the most famous ones in the chain, the Château Frontenac in Quebec City and Chateau Lake Louise in Alberta.

In 1891, he began building his summer estate, which Van Horne named "Covenhoven", on Minister's Island, adjacent to CPR's resort town of St. Andrews, New Brunswick.

[9] Following Van Horne's death at the Royal Victoria Hospital, in Montreal, Quebec[10] in 1915 at age 72, his remains were interred at Oakwood Cemetery in Joliet, Illinois.

There are streets named for Van Horne in several Canadian cities including Montreal, Toronto,[14] Sudbury, Winnipeg,[15] Brandon,[16] and Regina.