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Photos & Coordinates | Sources
In 1911, the Toronto bakery of George Weston Limited merged with four other Ontario bakeries to create the Canada Bread Company. Shortly thereafter they announced that it would expand to Winnipeg on their way to creating Canada’s first national bakery. In October 1911, construction started on a new three-storey plant on Burnell Street, measuring 72 feet by 200 feet, built by contractor George Hughes Archibald. It was built at a cost of about $70,000 and completed in mid-1912.
The company hired Alfred Argue Ryley as manager of the company and under his supervision the company flourished by doubling its sales in the first two years and soon established itself as the Winnipeg’s largest bakery. In 1913, a two-storey building was built next to the bakery by contractor Aaron Grey was company’s horse stables and in 1915 the plant underwent an expansion that increased its capacity to 250,000 loaves per week.
Some employees of the Canada Bread Company who were killed during service in the First World War were commemorated in a 101st Battalion souvenir program dedicated to Colonel Henry Norlande Ruttan on 24 April 1916, or in a 144th Battalion military vaudeville held at the Winnipeg Theatre on 9-11 March 1916.
Between 1924 and 1925, a three-storey addition measuring 25 feet by 200 feet was added to the north side of the building. Designed by local architect John Nelson Semmens, it was built by the construction firm of Wallace and Akins at a cost of about $80,000. In 1927, a third-storey addition to the stable building, also designed by Semmens and built by Wallace and Akins, was completed at a cost of about $22,000. Further alterations to the building were done in 1929 by Wallace and Akins, this time to make room for an 80-foot long electric oven capable of baking 4,000 loaves per hour.
In October 1998, the business closed and the building was vacant until being demolished in early 2020.
Construction of the Canada Bread Building (1912)
Source: Manitoba Free Press, 8 June 1912, page 11.
Canada Bread Building (1915)
Source: Rob McInnes, WP2155
Canada Bread Building (1929)
Source: Winnipeg Tribune, 5 November 1929, page 5.
Canada Bread Building (August 2017)
Source: George Penner
Former site of Canada Bread Building (December 2022)
Source: Jordan MakichukSite Coordinates (lat/long): N49.88606, W97.17133
denoted by symbol on the map above
Name
Occupation
Service
Rank
Birth Date
Death Date
Walter Atha
Bread Salesman
203rd Battalion, Canadian Infantry
Private
4 January 1878
12 May 1918
Henry Clifford
[Assiniboia,Next of Kin]Baker's Helper
4th Field Ambulance, Canadian Army Medical Corps
Private
4 July 1894
23 November 1918
John George Lightfoot
[Next of Kin, St. Matthews Anglican]Salesman
43rd Battalion, Canadian Infantry
Private
14 September 1884
18 June 1917
William Mowbray Potts
[Next of Kin]Labourer
7th Battalion, Canadian Infantry
Private
16 January 1890
27 September 1915
See also:
Memorable Manitobans: George Hughes Archibald (1877-1959)
Memorable Manitobans: Aaron Grey (1865-1962)
Memorable Manitobans: John Nelson Semmens (1879-1960)
Manitoba Business: Wallace and Akins
“Convention Hall to be part of addition,” Manitoba Free Press, 8 June 1912, page 11.
“Canada Bread Co. Ltd.,” Winnipeg Tribune, 9 November 1912, page 9.
“Building permits grow,” Manitoba Free Press, 17 May 1924, page 6.
City of Winnipeg Building Permit 3687/1927, City of Winnipeg Archives.
City of Winnipeg Building Permit 3681/1929, City of Winnipeg Archives.
“Scene of interesting installation,” Winnipeg Tribune, 5 November 1929, page 5.
“36 years of progress,” Winnipeg Tribune, 28 May 1949, page 60.
We thank George Penner and Rob McInnes for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Jordan Makichuk and Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 30 January 2024
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