Manitoba Business: North American Lumber and Supply Company / Citizens Lumber Company / North American Buildings Limited / North American Lumber

LInk to:
General Managers | Office Locations | Construction Works | Sources

This company was founded in 1906 by Charles John Lee and Edward A. Konantz. It operated retail lumber yards through prairie Canada and Ontario, the first branch being opened at Rivers in 1907. By late 1908, they had established 16 more yards. That number had grown to 56 yards by 1936.

The company had two subsidiaries: Citizens Lumber Company and North American Buildings Limited, the latter of which did general contracting. In 1966, North American Lumber and Supply amalgamated with Citizens Lumber Company to form North American Lumber Limited. The assets of the company were intended to be sold to new ownership in 2017 but the deal fell through in late stages of negotiation. The firm’s remaining 11 stores were sold or closed through 2018.

General Managers / Presidents (North American Lumber and Supply / North American Lumber)

Period	General Manager / President
1907-1947	Charles John Lee (1873-1959)
1947-1954	Gordon Edward Konantz (1896-1954)
1954-2001	?
2001-2021	Martha Konantz

General Managers (North American Buildings)

Period	General Manager
?-?	Arni Bjorn Bjornsson (1901-1986)

Office Locations

Period	Office Location (Winnipeg)
1945-1947	711-504 Main Street, Winnipeg (Royal Bank Building)
1947-1951	720-504 Main Street, Winnipeg (Royal Bank Building)
c1958	205 Fort Street

Construction Works in Manitoba

Building	Location	Year	Status
John Black Memorial United Church	898 Henderson Highway, Winnipeg	1957
RCMP Office	Hendersons Avenue, Whitemouth	1958
John A. Russell Building	84 Curry Place, Winnipeg	1958-1959
Manitoba Dental College	790 Bannatyne Avenue, Winnipeg	1958-1959
Nurses’ Residence	Pine Falls	1959-1960
Unemployment Insurance Building	344 Edmonton Street, Winnipeg	1960

See also:

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Gordon Orr Memorial Museum (152 Second Avenue, Binscarth, Municipality of Russell-Binscarth)

Memorable Manitobans: Arni Bjorn Bjornsson (1901-1986)

Sources:

“A new suburban or rural home $789,” Winnipeg Tribune, 22 June 1945, page 26.

“Gordon E. Konantz,” Winnipeg Tribune, 10 May 1951, page 26.

“$40,000 contract for RCMP office,” Winnipeg Tribune, 21 June 1958, page 4.

“70 drills can work at once,” Winnipeg Free Press, 16 July 1958, page 7.

Henderson’s Winnipeg and Brandon Directories, Henderson Directories Limited, Peel’s Prairie Provinces, University of Alberta Libraries.

“Western Canada works contracts,” Winnipeg Tribune, 14 November 1959, page 7.

“North American Buildings Ltd.,” Winnipeg Tribune, 2 April 1960, page 19.

Celebrating Over 100 Years of History, North American Lumber. [Internet Archive, 4 April 2016]

“North American Lumber will remain open,” SaskToday, 19 July 2017.

“North American Lumber sale not completed,” Hardlines, 6 December 2017.

“North American Lumber closing Thunder Bay store,” TBnewswatch, 12 March 2018.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 26 December 2022