Writing of his business career a local paper said: “One of the most interesting periods of Mr. Ross’s life was that of his prominent connection with the Dominion Coal and the Dominion Iron and Steel Companies, lasting for a period of upwards of ten years. At a comparatively early stage of the development of the coal and iron industries on the island of Cape Breton, Mr. Ross with his customary business astuteness, foresaw the possibilities of great development, and decided to invest a considerable amount of his capital there. He became the owner of a large block of shares in the coal company, and after the promotion of the Dominion Iron and Steel Company in 1901 he became a director. As it was obvious that the interests of the two concerns would, if steel turned out a success, be very much bound up, Mr. Ross increased his holdings in coal until, in the same year, the Steel Company was launched, his interest became paramount, and he was placed in the position of being able to dictate the policy of the company. Having retired from active participation in many of the interests which made his earlier career such a busy one, he determined to give his personal attention to the development of his Cape Breton interests and with that object in view he accepted the office of vice president of the Dominion Coal Company and managing director of the Dominion Iron and Steel Company in 1901. “The succeeding years were destined to be full of business anxieties and lively contendings but his keen business ability and foresight brought him to the end of his active connection with the companies a much richer man than when he went in, despite the loss of the fight in the courts over the dispute about the terms of the contract for the supply of coal to the Steel Company, 1907-08.