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Manitoba Power Commission | Winnipeg Hydro-Electric System | Manitoba Hydro-Electric Board | Manitoba Hydro | Facilities | Sources
Several corporate entities have existed in Manitoba to develop and market electric power in the province.
The Manitoba Power Commission was created in early 1919 with the objective of delivering inexpensive electrical power to rural Manitobans at the cost of production. It constructed transmission lines around the province and operated crude-oil-burning power plants at Minnedosa and Virden. Initially, there was a single commissioner but it expanded to three commissioners in 1931.
On 1 April 1961, the Commission was amalgamated with the Manitoba Hydro-Electric Board to form Manitoba Hydro, although the merged entity is still known legally as the Manitoba Hydro-Electric Board.
Chairmen
Period
Chairman
1919-1921
James Maurice Leamy (1878-1933)
1921-1924
Joseph Rochetti (1879-?)
1924-1927
Clair Addison Clendening (1885-1950)
1927-1932
Douglas Lauchlin McLean (1886-1964)
1932-1946
Herbert Howard Cottingham (1880-1960)
1946-1948
William David Fallis (1909-1974)
1948-1961
Robert Charles Smellie (1898-1975)
Commissioners
Commissioner
Period
John Leslie Bodie (1909-1997)
1953-1957
Joseph Cameron Donaldson (1891-1973)
1960-1961
Gerald Frederick Habing (1908-1984)
1948-1961
Charles Etienne Huot (1908-1985)
1959-1961
John Joseph Kelly (1898-1952)
1948-1949
Patrick Angus Kennedy (1880-1962)
1948-1959
John William Sanger (c1887-1966)
1931-1945
Robert Charles Smellie (1898-1975)
1948-1949
General Managers
Period
General Manager
1932-1946
Herbert Howard Cottingham (1880-1960)
1946-1961
William David Fallis (1909-1974)
Assistant General Managers
Period
Assistant General Manager
?-1948
John W. Tomlinson (?-1971)
1949-1961
Leslie Bartlett Mackay (1901-1974)
Comptrollers
Period
Comptroller
?-1942
C. A. Glover
1943-1947
?
1948-1949
John E. Hamlin
1950-1954
Wilfred Richard Corner (1922-?)
1955-1961
A. K. McKean
Secretaries
Period
Secretary
1930s-1949
Leslie Bartlett Mackay (1901-1974)
1949-1961
George Arthur Wrighton (1903-1971)
Chief Engineers
Period
Chief Engineer
?-1948
John W. Tomlinson (?-1971)
1949-1961
Thomas Latimore Woodhall (1908-1980)
The Manitoba Hydro-Electric Board was established by the provincial government in 1949 to coordinate the development and operation of all electrical generating facilities in the province. For its first two years, it was operated by civil servant Donald Stephens, with formal appointments starting in 1951. The Board acquired the electrical assets of the Winnipeg Electric Company in January 1953. Eight years later, it was amalgamated with the Manitoba Power Commission to form Manitoba Hydro, although the combined entity continued to be known legally as the Manitoba Hydro-Electric Board.
Chairmen and General Managers
Period
Chairman and General Manager
1951-1956
Donald MacGregor Stephens (1903-1968)
Presidents and General Managers
Period
President and General Manager
1957-1961
Donald MacGregor Stephens (1903-1968)
Chief Engineers
Period
Chief Engineer
1960-1961
Thomas Edwards Storey (1906-1978)
The Winnipeg Hydro-Electric System was created by the City of Winnipeg in 1911 to operate the Pointe du Bois Generating Station on the Winnipeg River. Later renamed Winnipeg Hydro, it merged with Manitoba Hydro in September 2002.
General Managers
Period
General Manager
1911-1912
James G. Rossman (?-?)
1912-1944
John Girdlestone Glassco (1879-1948)
1944-1951
John William Sanger (c1887-1966)
1952-1955
Herbert Lee Briggs (1903-1992)
1955-1960
Thomas Edwards Storey (1906-1978)
1960-1969
Donald Charles Bryden (c1905-1996)
1969-1978
Robert Thompson Harland (1917-2004)
1978-1988
Kenneth Hallgrimur “Ken” Hallson (1923-2006)
1988-2000
R. James Linton
2000-2001
Robert R. Tillotson (Acting)
George S. Gabriel (Acting)2001-2002
Ian H. McKay
Assistant General Managers
Period
Assistant General Manager
1912-1948
?
1948-1952
Herbert Lee Briggs (1903-1992)
1952-1955
Thomas Edwards Storey (1906-1978)
1955-?
?
?-1977
Max “Spiggy” Spigelman (1912-2008)
1977-2002
?
Chief Engineers
Period
Chief Engineer
1912-1922
Edwin Victor Caton (1884-1972)
1922-?
John William Sanger (c1887-1966)
?-1948
?
1948-1952
Thomas Edwards Storey (1906-1978)
1952-1956
Leonard Arthur “Len” Bateman (1919-2019)
Formed in 1961 by the amalgamation of the Manitoba Power Commission and the Manitoba Hydro-Electric Board, it merged with Winnipeg Hydro in September 2002.
Chairs
Period
Chair
Before 1961
See Manitoba Power Commission and Manitoba Hydro-Electric Board
1961-1967
Donald MacGregor Stephens (1903-1968)
1968-1970
William David Fallis (1909-1974)
1970-1972
David Cass-Beggs
1972-1978
Leonard Arthur “Len” Bateman (1919-2019)
1978-1979
Leonhard Martin Wedepohl (1933-2013) - Acting (Vice-Chairman)
1979-1980
Charles Edward “Charlie” Curtis (1931-2022) - Acting (Vice-Chairman)
1980-1981
Kris Kristjanson
1981-1984
Saul Mark Cherniack (1917-2018)
1984-1988
Marc Eliesen
1988-1990
Alan Brian Ransom (1940-2020)
1991-2000
John McCallum
2000-2012
Victor H. “Vic” Schroeder
2012-2016
William Fraser
2016-2018
Sandford Riley
2018-2022
Marina James
2022-2023
Edward Kennedy
2023-?
Ben Graham
General Managers
Period
General Manager
1961-1971
William David Fallis (1909-1974)
1971-1974
George Reid (c1913-1983)
Presidents / Chief Executive Officers
Period
President / Chief Executive Officer
1974-1978
Leonard Arthur “Len” Bateman (1919-2019)
1978-1979
?
1980-1982
Laurie D. Blachford (1926-2022)
1983-1986
J. Arnason
1986-1990
G. H. Beatty
1990-2012
Robert Bryan “Bob” Brennan (?-2021)
2012-2015
Scott Thomson
2015-2019
Kelvin Shepherd
2019-2024
Jay Grewal
2024
Hal Turner - Acting
2024-?
Allan Danroth
Secretaries
Period
Secretary
1961-?
John Francis Funnell (1925-2021)
Hydro-Electric Generating Stations
Generating Station
River
Generators
Capacity (MW)
Builder
Construction Start
Construction Completed
Status
Saskatchewan
4
479
Manitoba Hydro-Electric Board / Manitoba Hydro
1960
1965
Operational
Winnipeg
6
129
1914
1928
Operational
Nelson
6
125
1972
1979
Operational
Nelson
7
286
1958
1961
Operational
Nelson
12
1,220
1968
1974
Operational
Keeyask
Nelson
7
695
Keeyask Hydropower Limited Partnership
2014
2021
Operational
Laurie River
Laurie
3
10
Sherritt Gordon Mines
1952 (No. 1),
1958 (No. 2)1952 (No. 1),
1958 (No. 2)Operational
Nelson
10
1,350
1985
1990
Operational
Nelson
10
980
1973
1979
Operational
Winnipeg
8
56
1952
1955
Operational
Winnipeg
9
22
1903
1906
Decommissioned
Winnipeg
6
84
1949
1951
Operational
Winnipeg
16
75
1909
1926
Operational
Winnipeg
6
165
1929
1931 (phase 1),
1952 (phase 2)Operational
Winnipeg
8
68
1930
1948
Operational
Wuskwatim
Burntwood
3
214
2006
2012
Operational
Converter Stations
Converter Station
Construction Start
Completed
Dorsey
1968
1971
Henday
1973
1978
Keewatinohk
2012
2018
Radisson
1967
1971
Thermal Plants
Thermal Plant
Capacity (MW)
Completed
Brandon
327
1958
Selkirk
125
1960
See also:
History of the Electrical Industry in Manitoba by David S. G. Ross
MHS Transactions, Series 3, 1963-64 SeasonHistoric Sites of Manitoba: Grand Rapids Fish Hatchery (McKay Avenue, Grand Rapids)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Manitoba Power Commission War Memorial (820 Taylor Avenue, Winnipeg)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Manitoba Power Commission Building (Minnedosa)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Steele Block / Metropolitan Store (360 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Winnipeg Hydro War Memorial (Winnipeg)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Winnipeg Hydro Fountain (Memorial Park, Winnipeg)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Manitoba Power Commission Building (1075 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Manitoba Hydro-Electric Board Building / Manitoba Hydro Building (650 Harrow Street / 820 Taylor Avenue, Winnipeg)
Manitoba Business: Winnipeg Electric Railway Company / Winnipeg Electric Company
Events in Manitoba History: Rural Electrification
Powering the Province: Sixty Years of Manitoba Hydro by Manitoba Hydro, 2011.
“The History of Electric Power in Manitoba,” Manitoba Hydro.
“Rossman’s resignation accepted by council,” Winnipeg Tribune, 30 January 1912, page 5.
“Shift in Hydro dept. approved by committee,” Winnipeg Tribune, 26 August 1922, page 13.
“M’Lean resigns post as Chairman of Power Board,” Winnipeg Free Press, 16 December 1932, page 5.
“Cottingham quits Power Commission,” Winnipeg Tribune, 31 October 1946, page 1.
“R. C. Smellie heads Power Commission,” Winnipeg Free Press, 11 February 1948, page 3.
“Illness forces Fallis to resign,” Winnipeg Free Press, 18 October 1971, page 46.
Death registration [George Arthur Wrighton], British Columbia Vital Statistics.
Obituary [George Arthur Wrighton], Winnipeg Free Press, 30 October 1971, page 48.
“Top Hydro post goes to official of Brascan,” Winnipeg Free Press, 22 January 1980, page 1.
Generating Stations, Manitoba Hydro.
Converter Stations, Manitoba Hydro.
Winnipeg Hydro Reflections: 1911 to 2002 by Winnipeg Hydro, 2002.
Regional Cumulative Effects Assessment for Hydroelectric Developments on the Churchill, Burntwood and Nelson River Systems: Integrated Summary Report, Manitoba Hydro, 2017, page 152.
We thank Nathan Kramer and Bruce Owen (Manitoba Hydro) for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 9 July 2024
