A dedicated plant breeder who made many contributions to agriculture; perhaps the greatest being the development of Marquis wheat, the variety that clearly established “Canadian Hard Red Wheat” as the standard for quality the world over. The introduction and distribution of Marquis wheat gained for western Canada the high distinction of being classed as the “bread basket of the world.”

Charles Saunders instituted scientific methods for testing the baking quality of wheat, and the testing of breeding lines for such characteristics as yield, strength of straw, and date of maturity.

For these and many other contributions to the advancement of science, Sir Charles Saunders was knighted in 1934.