MHS Centennial Business: Manitoba Government Telephones / Manitoba Telephone System / MTS Allstream / Bell MTS

Link to:
Commissioners / Chairman | Superintendents | Chief Engineers | Buildings | Sources

On 30 December 1907, the Manitoba government purchased the telephone system belonging to the Bell Telephone Company in Manitoba, for the sum of $3,300,000, and established Manitoba Government Telephones to operate them. It was renamed the Manitoba Telephone System in 1933. Later known by the acronym MTS, in 1996 the firm was privatized by the provincial government of Gary Filmon. All assets of the company were purchased by Bell Canada in March 2017, and it now operates as Bell MTS.

On 5 April 2008, an MHS Centennial Business Award was presented to MTS Chief Executive Officer Pierre Blouin, at the Third Annual Manitoba Business Adventurers Banquet, by Manitoba Lieutenant-Governor John Harvard, MHS President J. M. Bumsted, and Asper School of Business Dean Glenn Feltham.

Commissioners / Chairmen

Period	Commissioner / Chairman
1908-1912	Francis Charles Paterson (1865-?)
1912-1921	George A. Watson
1921-1945	John Edmond Lowry (1880-1951)
1945-1954	Peter McAusland Millar (1889-1964)
1954-1974	James Ferguson “Jim” Mills (1909-1996)
1974-1980	Gordon W. Holland
1980-1981	William John Antliff Bulman
1981-1985	Saul Alecs Miller (1917-1993)
1985-1987	Jean W. Edmonds
1987-1989	Paul G. Thomas
1989-?	Thomas E. “Tom” Stefanson

Superintendents

Period	Superintendent
?-1948	Henry “Harry” Coddington (1883-1965)

Chief Engineers

Period	Chief Engineer
1912-1939	Harold Edward Brockwell (1870-1945)
1939-1945	Ernest Henry Williams (c1879-1965)
1945-1952	James Ferguson “Jim” Mills (1909-1996)
1952-1956	?
1956-1972	Gilbert Alexander Muir (1912-1973)

Buildings

Building	Location	Built
Baldur	Baldur, RM of Argyle	1928
Beausejour	Beausejour	1930
Binscarth	Municipality of Russell-Binscarth	1929
Boissevain	460 South Railway Street	1938
Brandon	19 Ninth Street, Brandon	1917
Carberry	121 Main Street	c1941
Cartwright	Municipality of Cartwright-Roblin	1929
Crystal City	210 Broadway Street	1928
Elkhorn	RM of Wallace-Woodworth	1932
Elm Creek	RM of Grey	1929
Emerson	15 Main Street	1928
Gladstone	24 Dennis Street	c1941
Grey	RM of Grey	1952
Hamiota	Municipality of Hamiota	1936
Hartney	315 East Railway Street	1947
Miami	RM of Thompson	1930
Morris	RM of Morris	1952
Oakland-Wawanesa	Municipality of Oakland-Wawanesa	1952
Rivers	Municipality of Riverdale	1930
Roblin	Municipality of Roblin	1928
Roland	RM of Roland	1928
Souris	27 Crescent Avenue West	1928
Stonewall	336 Main Street	1941
Swan River	Swan River	1935
Teulon	52 Main Street	1938
The Pas	The Pas	1928
Victoria	RM of Victoria	1952
Virden	560 Seventh Avenue South, Virden	1930
Winnipeg	405 Burrows Avenue (St. John’s)	1911
Winnipeg	474 Hargrave Street (Garry)	1907
Winnipeg	230 Martin Avenue West (Elmwood)	1928
Winnipeg	413 Niagara Street (River Heights)	1929
Winnipeg	340 Rutland Street (St. James)	1916
Winnipeg	297 Sherbrook Street (Sherbrook)	1909
Winnipeg	Transcona	1930
Winnipeg	166 Portage Avenue East	1931
Winnipeg	Portage Avenue	1931
Winnipeg	235 Kenny Street	1938

See also:

A History of the Telephone in Manitoba by Gilbert A. Muir
MHS Transactions, Series 3, 1964-1965 Season

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Manitoba Government Telephones War Memorial (Winnipeg)

Frequently Asked Questions: Winnipeg Telephone Exchanges

Sources:

“Lowry will be new telephone commissioner,” Winnipeg Tribune, 9 February 1921, page 1.

“Peter Millar named 'phones commissioner,” Winnipeg Tribune, 28 February 1945, page 25.

People of Service: A Brief History of the Manitoba Telephone System, 3rd edition by Robert H. Drain for MTS Corporate Communications, Winnipeg, 1991. [Manitoba Legislative Library]

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 29 March 2021