Formerly located off Archibald Street in St. Boniface (now Winnipeg), this meat processing plant was built in 1925, with excavation work contracted to James Murray Reid and the building being built by the firm of J. McDiarmid and Company at a cost of about $400,000, with the structural steel provided by the Vulcan Iron Works. An addition in 1926 was constructed by the firm of Wallace and Akins at a cost of about $18,000.
In 1927, Canada Packers was formed through the amalgamation of the Harris Abattoir Company and the William Davies Company Limited.
The plant was imploded in 2001 and there is no surviving evidence of the building at the site.
Aerial view of the Canada Packers plant at left and Swifts plant at right (1963)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough, 2016-0003Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.88107, W97.09395
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Memorable Manitobans: James McDiarmid (1855-1934)
Memorable Manitobans: Joseph Harris (1892-1976)
Memorable Manitobans: James Murray Reid (1882-1933)
Manitoba Business: Wallace and Akins
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Swift Meat Packing Plant (Archibald Street, Winnipeg)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Union Stockyards (Marion Street, Winnipeg)
“Contract for abattoir in St. Boniface let,” Manitoba Free Press, 20 March 1925, page 10.
“Compromise agreement reached with unions,” Manitoba Free Press, 9 September 1925, page 3.
“New Harris Abattoir will be open in two weeks,” Manitoba Free Press, 7 October 1925, page 6.
“Million dollar industry,” Winnipeg Tribune, 17 October 1925, page 29.
“Inspection of the new Harris Abattoir at St. Boniface,” Manitoba Free Press, 10 December 1925, page 10.
“Building permits show big gain in St. Boniface,” Manitoba Free Press, 31 August 1926, page 6.
“Great Canadian packing merger now being discussed in the east,” Manitoba Free Press, 6 May 1927, page 16.
“Canada Packers site set to be rubble,” Winnipeg Free Press, 3 March 2001, page 1.
This page was prepared by Jordan Makichuk and Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 9 December 2023
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