Professional Background
Steve was born in Hamilton, Ontario and raised in nearby Dundas. Steve earned a degree in Recreational Vehicle and Marina Business Management from Sir Sanford Fleming College in Peterborough. Upon graduation he accepted a sales position with an after-market wholesaler of snowmobile and motorcycle parts and accessories. In 1977 he joined Arctic Sports Products as a Territory Sales Manager for Scorpion snow
mobiles. In 1979 Steve accepted a sales position with Bombardier Inc where he served in various sales positions within the Moto Ski and Ski Doo snowmobile divisions, and with Can Am motorcycles. He was the Can Am off-road motorcycle Canadian race manager from 1980 to 1987 and coordinated the ISDE effort each year in Europe. In 1990 he transferred to the marketing department in Valcourt, Quebec, where he was involved in several key snowmobile R&D projects. His duties included competing in the 3-day International 500 snowmobile cross country race as well as the 10-day Harricana snowmobile race across northern Quebec. In 1992 he was appointed North American Race Manager for Cross Country and Sno Cross racing where he was directly responsible for much of Ski Doo’s early cross country racing success with famous factory race stars, Toni Haikonen and Todd Wolff, on board the MXZ chassis.
In 1995, after 16 years of service, he left Bombardier to start his own company Tekrider which manufactures a line of technical protective wear for the snowmobile, ATV, and motorcycle industry. Its principal product, the Tekvest, is the number one selling brand of snowmobile protective gear in the world and manufactured locally in Kinmount, Ontario. Steve’s extensive background in international snowmobile and motorcycle competition, as a former competitor, event organizer and team manager, has been a key component of his company’s success, as has his results-oriented approach to overcoming business challenges.
Steve Brand first visited Haliburton County in 1975 to 
compete in the famous Corduroy Enduro. This 2-day off-road motorcycle classic has been running since 1953. He bought his first cottage on the Drag River in Gelert back in 1982 and moved up full-time in 1984. He has resided on Canning Lake since 1985. He has 2 sons, Jeffery and Kevin, who are avid Sno Cross racers, snowboarders and wakeboarders. Together they enjoy boating and riding their snowmobiles, dirt bikes and ATV’s throughout the Haliburton Highlands. Steve has many years of property management and development experience including 4 years with Royal Homes Minden where he was in sales and site management.
Military Service
Lieutenant-Colonel Steve Brand is a serving infantry officer in Canada’s Army Reserve. His military career began when he joined the reserves as a private soldier with the The Royal Hamiliton Light Infantry (RHLI) – a regiment his father twice commanded. He received his basic parachute qualification in 1975. In 1979 he was commissioned from the rank of Warrant Officer to Lieutenant and appointed to command the RHLI AVGP platoon, when that armoured vehicle was first issued to the reserves in 1980.
In 1984 he was promoted Captain and transferred to the The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada (QOR of C) and upon completion of the Airborne Indoctrination Course, conducted by the Canadian Airborne Regiment, he served as a QOR airborne platoon commander. Later that year he was promoted to Major and appointed Officer Commanding, 60th (parachute) company. In 1990 he was appointed Deputy Commanding Officer of the QOR while retaining his appointment as OC Para. He served in various airborne roles for a total of 8 years and conducted several SUE’s with 3 Commando CAR, UK 10 Para and various US SF units. In 1992 he was promoted LCol and appointed Commanding Officer QOR. During his command the QOR was consiste
ntly one of the top units in Toronto Militia District and noted for a high level of fitness and field orientation. In 1994 he was privileged to command a 140-person QOR contingent supporting the official government D+50 commemorations in Normandy and was able to parachute into Drop Zone November as part of the 11-plane, British-led, mass drop of 1300 paratroopers.
He turned over command in 1995 and was appointed Senior Staff Officer Infantry and later G3 Reserve Advisor at LFCAHQ, where he served until 2000, at which time he was appointed Liaison Officer with the Canadian Forces Liaison Council (CFLC) and tasked to coordinate reserve employer support within the Greater Toronto Area.
In December of 2003 LCol Steve Brand volunteered for full-time military service and deployed to the West African c
ountry of Sierra Leone as the Canadian Task Force Commander for Roto 6, OP SCULPTURE, in support of the UN authorized and British-led, International Military Advisory and Training Team (IMATT). IMATT first deployed to Sierra Leone in 2000 in response to an invitation by the Government of Sierra Leone (GoSL) to assist in the reconstruction and training of the new army after an 11-year civil war ( As portrayed in the 2006 movie “BLOOD DIAMOND”). IMATT is an international team and currently includes military personnel from the UK, Canada, USA, Senegal, Nigeria, Ghana and Bermuda. The team includes officers and senior NCOs from the infantry, marines, navy, air force, reconnaissance, engineers, artillery, signals, logistics, medical and administrative disciplines. The IMATT training teams work alongside their Sierra Leonean colleagues in the MOD and RSLAF headquarters and sub-units in Freetown.
During his 6-month tour of duty LCol Steve Brand was the Staff Officer 1 (SO1) Freetown Garrison Brigade and senior IMATT infantry brigade advisor. His area of responsibility included the capital city of Freetown and all areas in the Western Sector. His duties included the coordination and 
execution of all light infantry battalion training, liaison with UNAMSIL(UN forces) and the SLP (Police) forces within the Western Sector, coordination of RSLAF support to national contingency plans concerning key point security in the capital region including the Special Court, Presidential and VP Lodges, State House, Parliament, and other key government installations. Due to the absence of a Canadian Embassy in Sierra Leone he acted as the senior Canadian representative to the Canadian Embassy in Guinea. LCol Brand also coord
inated several Civil Military Cooperation (CIMIC) programs including the rebuilding of 3 schools, charity events and clean water supply initiatives. He was able to make effective use of his residential building experience acquired in the early 90’s when he worked for Royal Homes Minden.
In Feb 2005 LCol Brand was appointed 2iC of the Community Contingency Planning Liaison Officer Detachment (CCPLO) with 32 Canadian Brigade Group (Toronto). In 2006 he was appointed Detachment Commander. He is tasked to train and deploy a team of CCPLO’s to support Domestic Operations within the 32CBG Area of Interest in conjunction with Emergency Management Ontario (EMO) and local Community Emergency Management Coordinators (CEMC).
In Oct 2008 LCol Brand volunteered for full time service again and deployed to Afghanistan that December where he served in the NATO HQ in Kandahar as the lead planner for the US expansion effort. Most Canadians are not aware that more than 20% of the deployed troops on every rotation to Afghanistan are reservists like Steve. He returned to Canada in late August 2009 with an even better appreciation of that which we enjoy here in Canada, and often take for granted!
Interests
Steve Brand is a founding director of the Juno Beach Centre in Normandy, a lifetime member of the Canadian Infantry Association, a member of the Royal Canadian Military Institute, and a member of the Canadian Airborne Forces Association. He is an avid amateur historian with a special interest in Canada’s World War Two role and has conducted several battlefield tours in NW Europe. He is an avid runner and in 2006 completed his first marathon (Marine Corps Marathon) in Washington, DC with a time of 3:55. He enjoys hiking around Haliburton County and in the Rockies thanks to MEC. He is an expert-rank
ed snowmobiler, off-road motorcyclist and ATV rider who specializes in long-distance events and dreams of competing in the Dakar Rally someday.
E-mail Steve at ; steve@remaxhaliburton.com
