Fox was met with gale-force winds, heavy rain and a snowstorm in the first days of his run. He was initially disappointed with the reception he received, but was heartened upon arriving in Channel-Port aux Basques, Newfoundland and Labrador, where the town's 10,000 residents presented him with a donation of over $10,000. Throughout the trip, Fox frequently expressed his anger and frustration to those he saw as impeding the run, and he fought regularly with Alward. By the time they reached Nova Scotia, they were barely on speaking terms, and it was arranged for Fox's brother Darrell, then 17, to join them as a buffer. Fox left the Maritimes on June 10 and faced new challenges upon entering Quebec due to his group's inability to speak French and drivers who continually forced him off the road. Fox arrived in Montreal on June 22, one-third of the way through his journey, having collected over $200,000 in donations. Around this time, Fox's run caught the attention of Isadore Sharp who was the founder and CEO of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts – and who had lost a son to melanoma in 1978 just a year after Terry's diagnosis. Sharp was intrigued by the story of a one-legged kid "trying to do the impossible" and run across the country; so he offered food and accommodation at his hotels en route. When Fox was discouraged because so few people were making donations, Sharp pledged $2 a mile the run and persuaded close to 1,000 other corporations to do the same. Sharp's encouragement persuaded Fox to continue with the Marathon of Hope. Convinced by the Canadian Cancer Society that arriving in Ottawa for Canada Day would aid fundraising efforts, he remained in Montreal for a few extra days.