As much as the next generation spent their money on parties, new houses, grand refurbishments and summer homes, they also continued to pour money back into education, health, and culture; albeit for the most part to the benefit of Montreal's anglophone community. Giving an estimated $100 million to charity in his lifetime, McConnell followed in the magnanimous steps of some of Montreal's best remembered philanthropists, such as Lord Strathcona, to whom King Edward VII referred to as "Uncle Donald" in recognition of his generosity towards charitable causes across the British Empire.