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Agriculture has been, and always will be, a foundation on which Manitoba’s economy is based. So it should not be surprising that, soon after the City of Brandon was incorporated, a group there formed the Brandon Agricultural Society to showcase their community and sell their products. In October 1882, local businessmen put up $200 and called for entries of cattle, horses, pigs, poultry, and grains. This led to the first of an uninterrupted series of Manitoba Summer Fairs. The need soon arose for a second annual fair and, by March 1908, the Brandon Winter Fair was born. Its purpose was primarily to promote the sale of livestock – especially horses, which provided farm “horsepower” – and to encourage improvement in the breeding lines and care of animals. An educational component – lectures and meetings – was added for the benefit of farmers attending the fair, along with displays by government agencies, implement dealers, and other manufacturers. The summer fair began at the corner of 10th Street and Victoria Avenue but soon moved to its present location along 18th Street. The two fairs were operated independently until 1967, when they were amalgamated under the umbrella of the Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba. A visit to the Winter Fair by Queen Elizabeth II in 1970 conferred royal patronage, and it was henceforth known as the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair. The latest addition to the Exhibition’s family was 1974’s Manitoba Livestock Expo, which started as a cattle show but, as the buildings at the Keystone Centre expanded, grew into a trade show and rodeo. Today, the Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba operates these three fairs annually in support of its mandate of showcasing the province’s agriculture, and linking its urban and rural communities through education and awareness while fostering economic enhancement, entertainment, and community pride.
An MHS Centennial Organization Award was presented by President Gordon Goldsborough to the Mr. Jim Ferguson, President of the Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba on 23 April 2006.
Period
President
1882-1896
Charles Whitehead (1836-1919)
1897-1898
Spencer Argyle Bedford (1851-1933)
1899-1905
?
1906
James Spence Gibson (1858-1933)
1907
P. Payne
1908
?
1909
P. Payne
1910-1913
?
1914
James Spence Gibson (1858-1933)
1915
P. Payne
1916
A. C. McPhail
1917
P. Payne
1918
?
1919
W. Dowling
1920-1923
?
1924
P. Payne
1925
James Duncan McGregor (1860-1935)
1926
Nettleton Whitby Kerr (1888-1963)
1927-1933
?
1934
Nettleton Whitby Kerr (1888-1963)
1935-1936
James Turner
1937-1940
Hugh Alexander “Sandy” McNeill (1893-1961)
1941-1942
W. A. Cameron
1943-1946
W. Davidson
1947-1948
A. J. Buckingham
1949-1952
Peter Alexander “Alex” McPhail (1897-1989)
1953-1955
Wilfrid Forrest “Wilf” McGregor (1902-1968)
1956-1961
Frank Osborne Meighen (1908-1995)
1961-1962
Ritchie Macpherson (1859-1954)
1962-1964
H. Rungay
1964-1967
George MacArthur
1967-1970
?
1970-1971
Reginald Elmer “Reg” Forbes (1924-2015)
1971-1972
K. T. MacPherson
Period
President
1908-1922
James Duncan McGregor (1860-1935)
1922-1924
?
1924-1927
W. C. McKillican
1927-1929
Joseph Cameron Donaldson (1891-1973)
1929-1931
J. W. Reid
1931-1940
?
1940-1946
James Turner
1946-1949
R. M. Hopper
1949-1952
Roy Clark
1952-1956
R. MacPherson
1956-1960
James Irving Moffatt (1919-1991)
1960-1964
George MacArthur
1964-1967
Ross Holtby “Hope” Turner (1911-2005)
1967-1971
?
1971-1972
A. J. Poole
Period
President
1972-1974
J. I. Moffat
1974-1977
Gordon Church
1977-1979
?
1979-1981
Bob Flock
See also:
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Brandon Winter Fair Building / Brandon Arena / Manning Depot No. 2 (Eleventh Street, Brandon)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Dominion Exhibition Display Building II (Fair Grounds, Brandon)
“McPhail tireless in farm, city circles,” Brandon Sun, 29 June 1989, page 48.
Lawrence Stuckey Collection, S. J. McKee Archives, Brandon University.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 18 September 2024
