Link to:
Chairmen | Presidents | General Managers | Chief Biologists | Sources
In 1936, a group of American conservationists came to Manitoba and met with such businessmen as lawyer Edward Pitblado (President of the Manitoba Game and Fish Association), and grain merchants James Richardson and Norman Paterson, encouraging them to establish an organization to restore and conserve habitat for ducks and other waterfowl. A charter of incorporation for the new organization was received on 17 March 1937. It was operated by a temporary group of directors until 1938 when the first meeting of Ducks Unlimited Canada, at the Fort Garry Hotel, occurred on 1-2 April 1938.
In 2023, the founding of Ducks Unlimited Canada was deemed by the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada to be an event of national historic significance. A plaque was unveiled at the Oak Hammock Marsh Conservation Centre.
Period
Chairman
1938-1942
William G. Ross
1943-1944
O. Leigh Spencer
1945-1947
William C. Fisher
1948-1949
L. T. McKim
1950-1951
Walter F. Tisdale (1887-1960)
1952-1953
L. T. McKim
1954-1956
W. F. W. Hancock
1957-1959
W. M. Martin
1960
W. F. W. Hancock
1961-1962
Richard Henry Gardyne Bonnycastle (1903-1968)
1963-1964
Fred S. Auger
1965-1968
W. Kenneth Martin
1969
Fred S. Auger
1970
W. M. Martin
1971-1972
Lorne M. Cameron
1973-1974
Robert A. White
1975-1976
Roderick Oliver Alexander Hunter (1915-2001)
1977-?
Duncan M. Jessiman
Period
President
1938-1939
William G. Ross
1940-1942
O. Leigh Spencer
1943-1944
William C. Fisher
1945-1946
S. S. Holden
1947
William G. Ross
1948-1949
Walter F. Tisdale (1887-1960)
1950-1951
L. T. McKim
1952-1953
W. F. W. Hancock
1954
Gordon Edward Konantz (c1896-1954)
1955-1956
William M. Martin
1957-1960
Richard Henry Gardyne Bonnycastle (1903-1968)
1961-1962
Fred S. Auger
1963-1964
W. Kenneth Martin
1965-1966
Robert A. Kramer
1966
Peter Bawden
1967
Festus S. Sharpe (1903-1998)
1968
W. Kenneth Martin
1969-1970
Lorne M. Cameron
1971-1972
Robert A. White
1973-1974
Roderick Oliver Alexander Hunter (1915-2001)
1975-1976
Duncan M. Jessiman
1977-1978
Hugh H. Mackay
1979
John D. McDiarmid
1980
Douglas Cole Groff (1912-1993)
1981
G. Fitzpatrick Dunn
1982-1983
Herbert H. Cowburn
1984-1985
William John “Jack” McKeag (1928-2007)
1986-1987
Arthur L. Irving
1988-1989
Duncan W. Sinclair
1990-1991
John C. Eaton
1992-1993
Claude Hooper Wilson (1931-2017)
1994-1995
William G. Turnbull
1996-1998
George C. Reifel
1999-2000
G. Tod Wright
2001-2002
Mel F. Belich
2003-2004
John R. Messer
2005-2007
Peter D. Carton
Period
General Manager
1938-1946
Thomas Clouston “Tom” Main (1887-1976)
1946-1951
?
1951-1968
Angus Gavin (c1908-1982)
Period
Chief Biologist
?-?
Bertram William “Bert” Cartwright (1890-1967)
1951-1977
William Graeme “Bill” Leitch (1914-2009)
See also:
Manitoba Organization: Delta Waterfowl Foundation
Ducks and Men: Forty Years of Co-operation in Conservation by W. G. Leitch, Winnipeg: Ducks Unlimited Canada, 1978.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 8 November 2024
