Manitoba Business: Winnipeg Electric Railway Company / Winnipeg Electric Company

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Presidents | Vice-Presidents | Substations | Sources

The Winnipeg Electric Railway Company, formed in 1892 by entrepreneurs William Mackenzie and James Ross through the purchase of infrastructure developed by Albert William Austin, became the Winnipeg Electric Company in 1924. It provided streetcar, gas, and electrical service to Winnipeg and several outlying rural municipalities.

Electricity was provided from two main sources: a steam-generating plant at Assiniboine Avenue and Main Street, and three hydroelectric generating stations on the Winnipeg River: Pinawa Generating Station (constructed between 1903 and 1906), Great Falls Generating Station (constructed between 1914 and 1928), and Seven Sisters Generating Station (constructed between 1929 and 1952).

The company was sold in January 1953 to the Manitoba Hydro-Electric Board.

Presidents

Period	President
1892-?	William Mackenzie (1849-1923)
?-1926	?
1927-1929	Andrew Wingate McLimont (1870-1951)
1929-1940	Edward Anderson (1867-1955)
1940-1952	William Henry Carter (1874-1962)

Vice-Presidents

Period	Vice-President
?-?	William Henry Carter (1874-1962)
c1922	Andrew Wingate McLimont (1870-1951)
?-?	Conrad Stephenson Riley (1875-1960)
?-?	Edwin Victor Caton (1884-1972)
?-?	Lawrence Frederick Betts “Lawrie” Palk (1885-1942)

General Managers

Period	General Manager
1892-1900	George Huestis Campbell (1855-1928)
1900-1917	Wilford Phillips (1858-1918)
1917-1928	Andrew Wingate McLimont (1870-1951)
1929-1940	Edward Anderson (1867-1955)

Chief Engineers

Period	Chief Engineer
1933-1953	Edwin Victor Caton (1884-1972)

Substations

Substation	Location	Year	Status
Academy Substation	216 Academy Road, Winnipeg	1947	Converted to residence (?)
Canada Cement Plant Substation	2395 McGillivray Boulevard, Winnipeg	1913	Demolished (?)
Dawson Substation	375 Dawson Road, Winnipeg	?
Desautels Substation	403-407 Rue Desautels, Winnipeg	1927
Harrow Substation	680 Harrow Street, Winnipeg	1920
Kildonan Substation / West Kildonan Substation	1812 Main Street, Winnipeg	c1907
Kylemore Substation	Osborne Street, Winnipeg	1909	Demolished (?)
Little Britain Substation	Main Street, RM of St. Andrews	c1907	Destroyed by fire (1951)
Logan Substation	1113 Logan Avenue, Winnipeg	1911	Demolished (?)
Middlechurch Substation	3796 Main Street, RM of West St. Paul	c1907
Mill Substation	41-55 Mill Street, Winnipeg	1905
Osborne Substation	265 Osborne Street, Winnipeg	1947	Demolished (2019)
Oxford Substation	Oxford Street [later Day Street], Winnipeg	1913	Demolished (?)
Powers Substation	354 Powers Street, Winnipeg	1946	Demolished (1985)
St. James Substation	1637 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg	1909
Sherbrook Substation	393 Sherbrook Street, Winnipeg	1920

See also:

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Winnipeg Electric Railway Building (213 Notre Dame Avenue, Winnipeg)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Winnipeg, Selkirk and Lake Winnipeg Railway Carbarn (479 Eveline Street, Selkirk)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Selkirk and Lake Winnipeg Railway (Selkirk Park, Selkirk)

Manitoba Business: Manitoba Power Commission / Manitoba Hydro-Electric Board / Winnipeg Hydro / Manitoba Hydro

Sources:

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

“Annual report of the Winnipeg Electric Railway Company for the fiscal year ended December 31st, 1913,” Manitoba Free Press, 13 February 1914, page 17.

“Grand Falls power promised soon,” Winnipeg Tribune, 26 June 1922, page 6.

“W. E. sub-station permit issued,” Winnipeg Free Press, 14 October 1946, page 5.

We thank Jordan Makichuk and Sandra Phillips for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 14 October 2024