The site near the southeast corner of the intersection of Main Street and Bannatyne Avenue in Winnipeg was formerly occupied by a log residence of merchant Andrew Graham Ballenden Bannatyne. It was where the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba met for the first time, on 15 March 1871. When the building was destroyed by fire along with a large number of government records, on 3 December 1873, meetings were held in the nearby Winnipeg Court House until a Legislative Building was constructed on Kennedy Street.
On 14 October 1950, a plaque was unveiled here, on an exterior wall of the Banque Canadienne Nationale (National Canadian Bank), by the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada to commemorate the province’s first Legislative Building. A ceremony was attended by Board representative Antoine d’Éschambault, Lieutenant Governor Roland Fairbairn McWilliams, MLA Charles Rhodes Smith, Manitoba Historical Society President William Douglas, Mayor Garnet Coulter, and members of the Bannatyne family.
The plaque was removed when the bank building was demolished and its present status is unknown.
Bannatyne House, site of Manitoba's first Legislature (no date)
Source: Manitoba Legislative Building Photo Gallery via Glen Toews
Plaque unveiling ceremony at the former site of Bannatyne House (October 1950)
Source: Winnipeg Tribune, 16 October 1950, page 2.Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.89774, W97.13866
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Memorable Manitobans: Andrew Graham Ballenden Bannatyne (1829-1889)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Winnipeg Court House (494 Main Street, Winnipeg)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Manitoba Legislative Building (450 Broadway, Winnipeg)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Manitoba Plaques for Persons, Events and Sites of National Historic Significance
“Manitoba’s first legislative building — Bannatyne’s home on McDermot a little east of Main Street (part 1)” by Bruce Cherney, Winnipeg Real Estate News, 28 August 2009.
“Manitoba’s first legislative building — December 3 fire destroyed A.G.B. Bannatyne’s home (part 2)” by Bruce Cherney, Winnipeg Real Estate News, 4 September 2009.
“First Legislature marked by plaque,” Winnipeg Tribune, 16 October 1950, page 2.
This page was prepared by Glen Toews and Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 21 March 2025
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