This company was formed in 1907 by Scotsman Donald Morrison who became President of the company and had initially entered the Winnipeg grain trade in 1881. Beaver was headquartered in Winnipeg although its elevators were concentrated in southwestern Saskatchewan. The company had six elevators in 1911, 22 in 1916, 26 in 1922, and 29 in 1928. A large proportion of these elevators had been built new by the company. However, several had been unlicensed for a few years in the mid-late 1920s. In 1928, the company was merged along with its 29 elevators into Western Grain along with five other companies. The Western Grain merger, along with others (e.g. Federal Grain) was a defensive strategy to counteract the increasing power of the various cooperative ventures.
Although Beaver amalgamated 29 elevators into Western Grain in 1928, it had owned 36 elevators during its lifespan. Twenty-seven (75%) had been built as new, five (14%) were built before 1911. This means that upwards of 90% of Beaver’s elevators were new builds. This is considerably higher than most other companies present in the late 1920s, where takeovers were quite common. In addition, four (11%) were purchased from other companies: three were bought from the International Elevator Company in the early 1910s (two went to Western Grain, one went to the Western-owned Mutual Grain), and one was bought from Spencer Grain in 1914, and disappeared in 1915.
Of the 36 elevators owned by Beaver, 25 (69%) went into the Western Grain amalgamation in 1928. Five (14%) “disappeared” – including the aforementioned Spencer Grain in 1915. Six elevators (17%) were sold to other companies: one elevator was sold to Saskatchewan Wheat Pool (1929), one to R. B. McClean Grain (1922), one to Crescent Elevator, and three to Mutual Grain. In these cases, the towns of Antelope, Morse, and Prelate already had a Western Elevator in 1928 and Western Grain did not want it known that they had two elevators in these towns.
See also:
Memorable Manitobans: Donald Morrison (1862-1935)
This page was prepared by John Everitt.
Page revised: 27 March 2024
