Edward Plunket Taylor (1901-1989) was a Canadian-born financier and thoroughbred horse breeder who orchestrated the powerful Argus Corporation empire.

Some may say that Edward Plunket Taylor's most notable accomplishment was the breeding of the famous racehorse Northern Dancer on his Windfields Farms, but Canadians know him best as the principal founder of Argus Corporation. E. P. Taylor's name became a caricature of Canadian capitalism for a quarter of a century after World War II. He was disparagingly referred to as "E(xcess) P(rofits) Taylor," an image reinforced by his rotund figure decked out in the finest attire regularly paraded at gala racing events.

Taylor made his career through international connections garnered as a major wartime procurer. In 1940 he was appointed by top Ottawa politician, C. D. Howe, to the executive committee of the Department of Munitions and Supply and in the next year to the presidency of...