MHS Centennial Organization: Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba

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Presidents | Sources

Agriculture has been, and always will be, a foundation on which Manitoba’s economy is based. So it should not be surprising that, soon after the City of Brandon was incorporated, a group there formed the Brandon Agricultural Society to showcase their community and sell their products. In October 1882, local businessmen put up $200 and called for entries of cattle, horses, pigs, poultry, and grains. This led to the first of an uninterrupted series of Manitoba Summer Fairs. The need soon arose for a second annual fair and, by March 1908, the Brandon Winter Fair was born. Its purpose was primarily to promote the sale of livestock – especially horses, which provided farm “horsepower” – and to encourage improvement in the breeding lines and care of animals. An educational component – lectures and meetings – was added for the benefit of farmers attending the fair, along with displays by government agencies, implement dealers, and other manufacturers. The summer fair began at the corner of 10th Street and Victoria Avenue but soon moved to its present location along 18th Street. The two fairs were operated independently until 1967, when they were amalgamated under the umbrella of the Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba. A visit to the Winter Fair by Queen Elizabeth II in 1970 conferred royal patronage, and it was henceforth known as the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair. The latest addition to the Exhibition’s family was 1974’s Manitoba Livestock Expo, which started as a cattle show but, as the buildings at the Keystone Centre expanded, grew into a trade show and rodeo. Today, the Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba operates these three fairs annually in support of its mandate of showcasing the province’s agriculture, and linking its urban and rural communities through education and awareness while fostering economic enhancement, entertainment, and community pride.

An MHS Centennial Organization Award was presented by President Gordon Goldsborough to the Mr. Jim Ferguson, President of the Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba on 23 April 2006.

Presidents (Provincial Exhibition)

Period	President
1882-1896	Charles Whitehead (1836-1919)
1897-1898	Spencer Argyle Bedford (1851-1933)
1899-1905	?
1906	James Spence Gibson (1858-1933)
1907	P. Payne
1908	?
1909	P. Payne
1910-1913	?
1914	James Spence Gibson (1858-1933)
1915	P. Payne
1916	A. C. McPhail
1917	P. Payne
1918	?
1919	W. Dowling
1920-1923	?
1924	P. Payne
1925	James Duncan McGregor (1860-1935)
1926	Nettleton Whitby Kerr (1888-1963)
1927-1933	?
1934	Nettleton Whitby Kerr (1888-1963)
1935-1936	James Turner
1937-1940	Hugh Alexander “Sandy” McNeill (1893-1961)
1941-1942	W. A. Cameron
1943-1946	W. Davidson
1947-1948	A. J. Buckingham
1949-1952	P. A. McPhail
1953-1955	Wilf McGregor
1956-1961	Frank Osborne Meighen (1908-1995)
1961-1962	R. MacPherson
1962-1964	H. Rungay
1964-1967	George MacArthur
1967-1970	?
1970-1971	Reginald Elmer “Reg” Forbes (1924-2015)
1971-1972	K. T. MacPherson

Presidents (Winter Fair)

Period	President
1908-1922	James Duncan McGregor (1860-1935)
1922-1924	?
1924-1927	W. C. McKillican
1927-1929	Joseph Cameron Donaldson (1891-1973)
1929-1931	J. W. Reid
1931-1940	?
1940-1946	James Turner
1946-1949	R. M. Hopper
1949-1952	Roy Clark
1952-1956	R. MacPherson
1956-1960	James Irving Moffatt (1919-1991)
1960-1964	George MacArthur
1964-1967	Ross Holtby “Hope” Turner (1911-2005)
1967-1971	?
1971-1972	A. J. Poole

Presidents (Provincial Exhibition / Winter Fair)

Period	President
1972-1974	J. I. Moffat
1974-1977	Gordon Church
1977-1979	?
1979-1981	Bob Flock

See also:

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Brandon Winter Fair Building / Brandon Arena / Manning Depot No. 2 (Eleventh Street, Brandon)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Dominion Exhibition Display Building II (Fair Grounds, Brandon)

Sources:

Lawrence Stuckey Collection, S. J. McKee Archives, Brandon University.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 13 February 2023