Wadih Fares

Wadih M. Fares (born 13 July 1956) is a Canadian property developer and engineer from Nova Scotia. Born in Lebanon, he is the founder and president of WM Fares Group, established in 1983. He serves as the Honorary Consul of Lebanon for the Maritimes.

Early life and education Wadih Fares was born in the village of Diman in northern Lebanon on 13 July 1956, to parents Georgette and Maurice Fares. His father ran an asphalt plant and built roads and bridges. Fares attended a private high school that provided him an international baccalaureate, and with a high academic performance he was accepted to attend the national university in Beirut. His education was cut short by the outbreak of the Lebanese Civil War, when he was conscripted into military service. After three months of deployment, Fares returned home following a night of heavy bombardment, and his mother insisted that he leave Lebanon and go to Canada. He obtained permission to leave from an army general and travelled to Paris, and from there across the Atlantic to Halifax. After completing his education, he took a position with Irving's precast concrete division in Bedford and Saint John, purchased a house, and married his wife, Cathy.

Career WM Fares Group Not long after leaving Irving, Fares received his first commission to design a single-family home for a friend. Satisfied with his work, the same friend then commissioned him to design a 12-unit apartment building. After word of his services began to spread, he established WM Fares Group in 1983 and hired a secretary. Soon after, the company grew to include a part-time accountant and a draftsperson. Now with established connections in the industry, Fares began his first independent development project with a Halifax townhouse, purchasing the land following an investment from a relative. Two of Fares' three children joined the business: alt=The Trillium in Halifax, Nova Scotia, a modern high-rise apartment tower with a distinctive curved glass top, viewed from a green park with trees and a black fence in the foreground. WM Fares Group is perhaps best known for the Trillium, a $40-million high-rise condominium in downtown Halifax which was the first skyscraper erected in the downtown area in 25 years. The project began in 2008 and was completed in 2012,

Honorary consulship Fares has served as the Honorary Consul of Lebanon for the Maritimes since 1995, and is considered a leader in the Lebanese-Canadian community.

Boards and committees In 2014, Premier Stephen McNeil appointed Fares as national chairman of Nova Scotia's immigration advisory council. He has also served as chair of the board of directors of the Halifax International Airport Authority, chairman of Dalhousie University's Capital Projects and Facilities Committee, a member of the Dalhousie University board of governors, and a member of the Advisory Committee to the Minister for Housing Nova Scotia. He is a founder and honorary member of the Canadian Lebanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Political donations During the 2012 Halifax municipal election, Fares and his wife donated $3,800 to the campaigns of five councillors and the mayor. In 2024 Halifax municipal election, Fares donated $2,500 to the mayoral campaign of Andy Fillmore. His son Maurice also donated to Fillmore's campaign.

The National Post listed Fares among Nova Scotia's top political donors in 2020, having made 12 donations to the three major parties: $7,691.24 to the Progressive Conservatives, $7,504 to the Liberals, and $2,873.12 to the NDP.

Philanthropy Fares carries out his charitable endeavours through the WM Fares Family Foundation. In 2022, the foundation donated $500,000 to support cancer-fighting technology at the Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre in Halifax.

Awards and honours Fares has been the recipient of a wide variety of awards and distinctions. In 2008, he was inducted into the Nova Scotia Business Hall of Fame. The following year, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Commerce by Saint Mary's University, and designated as a Fellow of Engineers Canada. and received a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal the same year. In 2014, Fares received a Humanitarian Award from the Canadian Red Cross. He was awarded a King Charles III Coronation Medal in 2025 by nomination from Lena Diab. Fares is a member of the Order of St. Gregory, conferred to him by Pope Benedict XVI.