History

History of The St. Andrew's Society of Winnipeg

Entering Our Third Century

The St. Andrew's Society of Winnipeg is the oldest continuously operating Scottish society in western Canada. The Society was founded in 1871, one year after Manitoba became a Province.

The Society's first President was Lord Strathcona, builder of the Canadian Pacific Railroad, developer of the West.  The Society has the distinction of having been founded by an act of the Provincial Legislature.
 
A further event of historical note: in 1910 the Society assisted in raising the 79th Cameron Highlanders of Canada (later named The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders Of Canada).  
 
The Society's primary purposes, unaltered from the outset, are the promotion and preservation of Scottish culture in Manitoba and of public understanding of the Scots' role in the origins of the Province.