MHS Centennial Organization: St. Andrew’s Society of Winnipeg

It is unquestionable that Canadians of Scottish descent have made incredibly important contributions to the development of Manitoba’s character starting with the Orcadian employees of the Hudson’s Bay Company who arrived on ships at York Factory in the 17th and 18th centuries. And, of course, we cannot forget the Selkirk Settlers who arrived on the banks of the Red River in 1812. Throughout the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries, numerous Scottish immigrants have chosen Manitoba as their homes.

In 1871, just one year after Manitoba joined Confederation, a group of these Scottish expatriates under President Donald A. Smith, formed the Selkirk St. Andrew’s Society of Manitoba. It gained formal recognition by the Manitoba Legislature in March 1896 as the St. Andrew’s Society of Winnipeg. Its membership list is a veritable Who’s Who of Manitoba society, including premiers, senators, MPs, MLA, mayors, city councillors, chief constables, and numerous members of the military, business community, academia, judiciary, the clergy, the arts, and professions. And their names live on today in the names of numerous Winnipeg city streets, such as Smith, Donald, Bannatyne, Taylor, Emslie, and McMicken.

The Society’s fundamental purpose is to preserve and promote Scottish culture in Manitoba and, secondarily, to promote recognition of the historic contribution of Scots and those of Scottish descent to the building of Manitoba. Among the groups’ annual events are the St. Andrew’s Day Dinner, a Selkirk Settlers Fall Commemorative, a New Year’s Levee, and an annual golf tournament. It provides annual grants in support of the St. Andrew’s Society Pipe Band and other Scottish cultural and dance groups and pipe bands. Special projects have included the erection of the Fort Douglas Cairn and the Scots Thistle Monument on Waterfront Drive in Winnipeg.

In 2015, the Society began accepting female members for the first time in its history.

Presidents

Period	President
1871-1872	Donald Alexander Smith (1820-1914)
1872-1874	Andrew Graham Ballenden Bannatyne (1829-1889)
1874-1875	Gilbert McMicken (1813-1891)
1875-1882	Andrew Graham Ballenden Bannatyne (1829-1889)
1882-1883	John Emslie (1846-1907)
1883-1885	Alexander Brown (?-?)
1885-1886	Captain W. G. Clark (?-?)
1886-1889	Robert Strang (1833-1900)
1889-1891	John Palmerston Robertson (1841-1919)
1891-1893	Donald McLeod Telford (1845-1921)
1893-1895	H. Cameron (?-?)
1895-1896	Duncan Wendell McDermid (1858-1909)
1896-1897	Thomas William Taylor (1852-1924)
1897-1898	Mark Fortune (1847-1912)
1898-1899	Hugh John Macdonald (1850-1929)
1899-1900	Daniel Hunter McMillan (1846-1933)
1900-1901	Dr. J. A. McArthur (?-?)
1901-1902	John Russell (c1850-1905)
1902-1903	John Robert Grant (1844-1927)
1903-1904	Henry “Harry” Sandison (1861-1942)
1904-1905	Alexander Dawson (1849-1928)
1905-1906	Hugh Savigny Paterson (1855-1936)
1906-1908	Douglas Colin Cameron (1854-1921)
1908-1909	Kenneth Mackenzie (1839-1928)
1909-1910	Andrew Strang (1849-1913)
1910-1911	Andrew Boak Alexander (1872-1937)
1911-1913	William Methven Whyte (1843-1914)
1913-1915	Robert Rennie Swan (1876-?)
1915-1916	John Young Reid (1872-?)
1917-1918	George Paterson (1857-1923)
1918-1920	John Young Reid (1872-?)
1920-1921	James Auld (1881-1922)
1921-1922	John Macgregor (?-?)
1922-1923	William Grassie (1872-1935)
1923-1924	John Dingwall Sinclair (1874-?)
1924-1929	John McEachern (1867-1942)
1929-1930	John Hunter (?-?)
1930-1932	Duncan Cameron (?-?)
1932-1935	W. L. Alexander (?-?)
1935-1937	Hugh Amos Robson (1871-1945)
1937-1939	George Smith (1882-1963)
1939-1941	Robert Stevenson (?-?)
1941-1943	George Skinner (?-?)
1943-1944	Donald Williamson (?-?)
1944-1946	John Dale McKelvie (1876-1959)
1946-1948	Thomas Walter Laidlaw (1897-1965)
1948-1949	Arthur Long Dysart (1886-1964)
1949-1950	George S. Mathieson (1873-1951)
1950-1951	Charles MacIver (1887-1973)
1951-1952	Peter McAusland Millar (1889-1964)
1952-1954	Thomas Saunders (1909-2005)
1954-1955	Alexander D. Muir (?-?)
1955-1956	J. C. Irvine (?-?)
1956-1957	David Alexander Bruce Murray (1891-1970)
1957-1958	Norman MacLeod (?-?)
1958-1959	Charles McKelvie (1916-2013)
1959-1960	James Sivewright Stephen (1899-1985)
1960-1961	Robert Tremaine Taft (1904-1990)
1961-1962	Ian Muir (?-1996)
1962-1963	Dr. J. H. McBeath (?-?)
1963-1964	Robert DuVal Guy (1912-1985)
1964-1965	A. Stuart R. Tweedie (?-1994)
1965-1966	Hugh Comack (1920-2013)
1966-1967	Alexander McInnes “Mac” Runciman (1914-2000)
1967-1968	Robert Nicol Bruce (c1916-2006)
1968-1969	Ian Murray Grant (1921-2012)
1969-1970	Norman MacGregor Stewart (c1916-1998)
1970-1971	Roderick McLaren “Rory” MacLennan (?-1995)
1971-1972	Harold W. Gillis (?-?)
1972-1973	Donald Bruce Macdonald (1913-1973)
1973-1974	Dr. Robert G. Bankier
1974-1975	Andrew Crawford “Andy” Tough (1921-2016)
1975-1976	Duncan Kenneth “Ken” McCrimmon (1905-1992)
1976-1977	Charles S. Tully (1921-2013)
1977-1978	Alexander John MacIver (1924-2008)
1978-1979	John Hope Webster (1926-2015)
1979-1980	Lawrence Joseph “Larry” McCombe (1932-1989)
1980-1981	Allister F. McDiarmid (?-?)
1981-1982	Colonel J. McManus (?-?)
1982-1983	P. Kelly (?-?)
1983-1984	Andrew Lorne Campbell (1920-2014)
1984-1985	G. R. S. Inkster
1985-1986	J. H. Gillis
1986-1987	J. A. Bracken
1987-1988	Jack Llewellyn MacDonald (1925-2014)
1988-1989	Chief Constable H. B. Stephen
1989-1990	Dr. P. Connelly
1990-1991	R. A. MacIntosh (?-?)
1991-1992	R. J. McRae
1992-1993	Robert Ian Morton (1931-2002)
1993-1994	Glen Harrison Lowther (1926-2019)
1994-1995	Eldon M. Ross (1931-2016)
1995-1996	Neil Stuart Wither (1935-2014)
1996-1997	Dr. J. B. Morison (?-?)
1997-1998	Reverend Canon J. D. Caird (?-?)
1998-1999	D. M. Kilgour
1999-2000	J. W. Lawson (?-?)
2000-2001	Paul Larkin Haverstock (1947-2022)
2001-2002	Donald H. Comack
2002-2003	Robert H. Vandewater
2003-2004	Reverend D. I. Wilson
2004-2005	R. G. Darling
2005-2006	D. J. MacDonald
2006-2007	Major W. K. Worden
2007-2008	V. A. Ness
2008-2010	Timothy G. Flook
2010-2012	Robert W. Tisdale
2012-2014	John Draper Perrin III
2014-2015	William Alexander “Bill” Blaikie (1951-2022)
2015-2016	Reverend J. T. Christie
2016-2017	Arthur J. Stacey
2017-2018	Lawrence G. Prout
2018-2019	Jae Eadie
2019-2021	Major Andrew Flook
2021-2022	Evelyn Mitchell

An MHS Centennial Organization Award was presented by Gordon Goldsborough to Mr. Tim Flook, President of the St. Andrew’s Society of Winnipeg, on 19 April 2009.

See also:

St. Andrew’s Society of Winnipeg

Sources:

Obituary [Paul Larkin Haverstock], Winnipeg Free Press, 31 December 2022.

We thank John Perrin, Robyn McCombe, and Colin T. Harris for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 31 December 2022