A Montrealer by birth, Donald Harper first studied agriculture at MacDonald College (McGill University). He worked as a draughtsman with Louis Perron, then with the Montreal Parks Department, but Harper was intent on studying landscape architecture. He moved south to Ann Arbor, earning a BSC in Landscape Architecture and a Masters of City Planning from the University of Michigan in 1957.
Harper found work in Washtenaw County, but by 1959, he had joined the influx of talent into Montreal, as the city launched its build-up to Expo-67. Expo-67 galvanized the profession, and by 1966, Harper had established his own firm. He worked directly on the Expo site, partnering with Vancouver’s John Lantzius to create the landscape for Habitat 67, a revolutionary housing complex by Montreal architect Moshe Safdie.
In 1966, Harper embarked on a two-year term President of the CSLA. These were game-changing years for Canadian landscape architects, as provincial associations formed and affiliated with the national CSLA. In 1968, the CSLA hosted the congress of the International Federation of Landscape Architects, “a unique occasion for inter-professional communication,” Harper recalled, which attracted landscape architects from 23 countries.
Critically for the profession, Canadian universities came on board. In 1966, Harper became the first director of North America’s only French language program in Landscape Architecture, in the newly established Faculty of Environmental Design at the University of Montreal. Working with Georges Daudelin, he prepared the curriculum, This marked the successful conclusion of a long campaign by Quebec LAs like Louis Perron. It was a time, says historian Ron Williams, when Canadian institutions produced a growing stream of young professionals “made in Canada”.
When Harper left academia to join Parks Canada, he was again on the leading edge of major change. The national parks landscape was rapidly expanding, with regional offices opening in 1973. He served as Assistant Director of the Atlantic Region (1973-79), then moved to Winnipeg to become Director of the Prairie and Northern Region until his retirement in 1994.
In later years, he continued to serve the profession, working provincially with the Manitoba Association of Landscape Architects (founded in 1973), and as MALA representative to the CSLA board. But he was happiest working in his garden, and with his wife, established Oak Grove Gardens and Preserves in Argyle, Manitoba. He was also a keen genealogist, a local historian, and passionate about training his German Shorthaired Pointers, often serving on the executive of the Manitoba club.
