Toronto’s position as a global centre for breakthrough cancer research has been amplified by a $50 million gift to The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation in memory of the late Allan Slaight, the Canadian business legend and philanthropist.

The Allan Slaight Breakthrough Fund will support discovery research at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, allowing cancer researchers to approach their work in creative and unconventional ways. The gift from La Fondation Emmanuelle Gattuso, managed by Emmanuelle Gattuso, wife of the late Allan Slaight, and from The Slaight Family Foundation, managed by Allan’s son, Gary Slaight, was announced by The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation.

Typically, major gifts are tied to specific programs or outcomes. This makes the $50 million undesignated gift to cancer research – and its timing – even more exceptional.