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On 7 January 1903, farmers met at Virden and formed an organization with the primary aim “to deal with the pressing problems of grain marketing and the injustices to which farmers were subjected by other interests”. A subsequent meeting was held at Brandon, on 3-4 March 1903 with 75 people in attendance. They chose the name Manitoba Grain Growers Association for the organization, and elected an initial slate of officers:
Position
Incumbent
President
James William Scallion (1847-1926)
Vice-President
Richard Coe Henders (1853-1932)
Secretary
Roderick McKenzie (1850-1925)
Directors
Donald McEwen, Brandon
William Ryan (1842-1933)
W. A. Robinson, Elva
Daniel William McCuaig (1855-1928)
Jeff Wilson, Lenore
Hugh Alexander Fraser (1861-1947)
The Association began publishing the Grain Growers Guide in 1908.
In January 1920, the Association voted to change its name to the United Farmers of Manitoba, to clarify that it represented the interests of all farmers, not just grain farmers, and to align explicitly with like-minded organizations in Ontario and Alberta. The organization became actively involved in provincial and federal politics, fielding candidates nationally in the 1921 election, and provincially the next year. It took a majority of seats and, lacking a natural leader, invited John Bracken, Principal of the Manitoba Agricultural College, to assume the premiership. The UFM governed as the Progressive Party of Manitoba, founded on an ideology of non-partisan, managerial government, with special attention to rural concerns.
The United Farmers of Manitoba became the Manitoba Federation of Agriculture on 21 June 1939.
Period
President
1903-1904
James William Scallion (1847-1926)
1904-1905
William Ryan (1842-1933)
1905-1910
Daniel William McCuaig (1855-1928)
?-1919
Richard Coe Henders (1853-1932)
1920-1921
John Livingstone Brown (1867-1953)
1922
Colin H. Burnell (1880-1946)
1925-1928
Adalbert James Moses Poole (1881-1970)
1931-1932
William John Ward (1880-1971)
1933-1934
James Roy McPhail (1889-1971)
?-?
Peter Wright (1857-1938)
?-1939
?
After 1939
Period
Secretary
?-1925
William Robertson Wood (1874-1947)
In 1912, the UFM admitted women as associate members and, the next year, went on record as favouring “votes for women on equal terms with men”. In 1914, its constitution was amended to recognize women as full members. A women’s section was formally organized in 1917 as the United Farm Women of Manitoba (UFWM).
Period
President
Community
1917-1918
Mrs. Arthur Tooth
Elie
1918-1922
Janet Jaffray Wood (1863-1944)
Oakville
1923-1924
Mrs. James Elliott
Cardale
1925-1932
Sarah Ellen Jobb Gee-Curtis (1870-1953)
Virden
1932-1934
?
?
1934-1937
Maude Kerr Goodale (1879-1942)
?
See also:
A Great Movement Underway: Women and The Grain Growers’ Guide, 1908-1928
edited and introduced by Barbara E. Kelcey and Angela E. Davis, 253 pages, 1997.Manitoba Business: Grain Growers Guide / Country Guide
Manitoba Organization: Manitoba Federation of Agriculture / Manitoba Federation of Agriculture and Co-operation
“Grain Growers’ big convention,” Brandon Sun, 11 February 1904, page 15.
“Grain Growers third convention,” Brandon Sun, 16 February 1905, page 18.
“R. C. Henders, M.P., makes statement,” Manitoba Free Press, 26 July 1919, page 1.
“Federal political action favored by many districts,” Brandon Sun, 8 January 1920, page 1.
United Farmers of Manitoba, 25th Anniversary Year Book and Annual Convention Program, Portage la Prairie, 10-13 January 1928.
“Farm organizations to consider unity under new name,” Brandon Sun, 26 May 1939, page 1.
“New farm federation shaped at Brandon,” Winnipeg Tribune, 22 June 1939, page 3.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 21 April 2024
