MHS Centennial Business: Manitoba Government Telephones / Manitoba Telephone System / MTS Allstream / Bell MTS

Link to:
Commissioners / Chairman | Superintendents | Chief Engineers | Buildings | Sources

On 30 December 1907, the Manitoba government purchased the telephone system belonging to the Bell Telephone Company in Manitoba, for the sum of $3,300,000, and established Manitoba Government Telephones to operate them. It was renamed the Manitoba Telephone System around 1921. Later known by the acronym MTS, in 1996 the firm was privatized by the provincial government of Gary Filmon. All assets of the company were purchased by Bell Canada in March 2017, and it now operates as Bell MTS.

On 5 April 2008, an MHS Centennial Business Award was presented to MTS Chief Executive Officer Pierre Blouin, at the Third Annual Manitoba Business Adventurers Banquet, by Manitoba Lieutenant-Governor John Harvard, MHS President J. M. Bumsted, and Asper School of Business Dean Glenn Feltham.

Commissioners / Chairs

Period	Commissioner / Chair
1908-1912	Francis Charles Paterson (1865-?)
1912-1921	George A. Watson
1921-1945	John Edmond Lowry (1880-1951)
1945-1954	Peter McAusland Millar (1889-1964)
1954-1974	James Ferguson “Jim” Mills (1909-1996)
1974-1980	Gordon W. Holland
1980-1981	William John Antliff Bulman
1981-1985	Saul Alecs Miller (1917-1993)
1985	Myrna Phillips MLA
1985-1987	Jean W. Edmonds
1987-1989	Paul G. Thomas
1989-1996	Thomas E. “Tom” Stefanson

General Managers / Presidents / CEOs

Period	President / CEO
1972-1974	James Ferguson “Jim” Mills (1909-1996)
1974-1986	Gordon W. Holland
1986-1987	Edward J. Robertson
1987-1990	Reg Bird
1990-1991	Dennis H. Wardrop
1991-1993	Oz Pedde
1993-1996	Bill Fraser

Superintendents

Period	Superintendent
?-1948	Henry “Harry” Coddington (1883-1965)

Chief Engineers

Period	Chief Engineer
1912-1939	Harold Edward Brockwell (1870-1945)
1939-1945	Ernest Henry Williams (c1879-1965)
1945-1952	James Ferguson “Jim” Mills (1909-1996)
1952-1956	?
1956-1972	Gilbert Alexander Muir (1912-1973)

Buildings

Building	Location	Built	Status
Arborg	?	1922
Baldur	?	1928
Beausejour	75 Third Street South	1930
Binscarth	Municipality of Russell-Binscarth	1929
Boissevain	460 South Railway Street	1938
Brandon	19 Ninth Street, Brandon	1917
Carberry	121 Main Street	c1941
Cartwright	?	1929
Crystal City	210 Broadway Street	1928
Dauphin	305 Main Street North	1916-1917
Dominion City	118 Waddell Avenue East	1922
Elkhorn	210 Richhill Avenue West	1932
Elm Creek	?	1929
Emerson	15 Main Street	1928
Foxwarren	?	1921
Gilbert Plains	113 Main Street North	1927
Gladstone	24 Dennis Street	1947
Grandview	?	1927
Grey	RM of Grey	1952
Hamiota	59 Fourth Avenue	1936	Demolished (2005)
Hartney	315 East Railway Street	1947
Miami	?	1930
Minto	?	1927
Morris	RM of Morris	1952
Newdale	?	1921
Oakland-Wawanesa	Municipality of Oakland-Wawanesa	1952
Ochre River	?	1921
Plum Coulee	?	1923
Portage la Prairie	16 Royal Road South	1910
Reston	401 Third Avenue	1917
Rivers	?	1930
Roblin	130 Second Avenue NW	1928
Roland	?	1928
Russell	Westbourne Street West	1918
Selkirk	321 Manitoba Avenue	1921
Shoal Lake	?	1921
Sidney	?	1921
Souris	27 Crescent Avenue West	1928
Stonewall	336 Main Street	1941
Swan River	114 Fifth Avenue North	1921
Teulon	52 Main Street	1938
The Pas	154 Third Street West	1928
Treherne	?	1923
Victoria	RM of Victoria	1952
Virden	560 Seventh Avenue South, Virden	1930
Wawanesa	Third Street West	1924
Winnipeg	405 Burrows Avenue (St. John’s)	1911
	628-640 Corydon Avenue (Fort Rouge)	1907-1968
	464 Hargrave Street	1919
	474 Hargrave Street (Garry)	1907
	230 Martin Avenue West (Elmwood)	1928
	413 Niagara Street (River Heights)	1929
	340 Rutland Street (St. James)	1916
	297 Sherbrook Street (Sherbrook)	1909
	235A Horace Street (Norwood)	1919
	101 Victoria Avenue West (Transcona)	1930
	166 Portage Avenue East	1931
	235A Horace Street (Norwood)	1938
	489 Empress Street	1960-1962

See also:

A History of the Telephone in Manitoba by Gilbert A. Muir
MHS Transactions, Series 3, 1964-1965 Season

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Manitoba Government Telephones War Memorial (Winnipeg)

Manitoba Organization: Telephone Curling Club

Frequently Asked Questions: Winnipeg Telephone Exchanges

Sources:

“Tenders,” Russell Banner, 18 July 1918, page 11.

“Lowry will be new telephone commissioner,” Winnipeg Tribune, 9 February 1921, page 1.

“Tenders,” Manitoba Free Press, 28 March 1921, page 12.

“Tenders,” Manitoba Free Press, 29 July 1922, page 18.

“Tenders,” Manitoba Free Press, 29 May 1923, page 14.

“Peter Millar named 'phones commissioner,” Winnipeg Tribune, 28 February 1945, page 25.

Banner County: History of Russell and District, 1879-1967 by Russell Women's Institute, 1967.

People of Service: A Brief History of the Manitoba Telephone System, 3rd edition by Robert H. Drain for MTS Corporate Communications, Winnipeg, 1991. [Manitoba Legislative Library]

We thank Jordan Makichuk for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 18 March 2023