Union Stock Yard and Meatpacking Plants

In 1911 the movers and shakers convinced three different railways to partner up and become shareholders on industrial land in St. Boniface with the public having a say in the development as directors. Investor raised $1.5 million which is around $35 million today. The result was the Union Stock Yards off of what is Marion. It was a huge complex that included the stock yards, rail connections for all the rail lines, deep water well, administration building, restaurant and bank and concrete internal roads when it was common to have gravel roads elsewhere in the province. As the third largest city in Canada in 1911, Winnipeg was able to attract a fair amount of investment and was not afraid to think big

The above picture was taken most likely in the 1960 and features two of the six meatpacking plants that were built between 1918 and 1939. Harris Abattoir became Canada Packers and the plant next door was the Swift Plant. Prior to this near 70 per cent of processing was done in the United States. By 1922 the Union Stock Yards was the largest meat processor in the British empire with $20 million in production.

Nearly 3000 people would work at the Union Stock Yards and several hundred would work in each of the meatpacking plants. The picture below shows just how rural the Harris Abattoir (Canada Packers) was from St. Boniface and Winnipeg. A steam engine hints at how old the picture is and the Swift plant doesn't seem to have been built yet.

The above shows the Swift Plant in 1939. The scale of the building indicates just how important an industry this one was for Winnipeg.

By the 1980s the golden era of Union Stock Yards and the meatpacking district was over. Canada Packers and Swifts shut down in 1980 putting nearly 1600 workers out of jobs. Nearly the entire site is still awaiting it next purpose save for the Maple Leaf plant at the back end of the expansive property.

The Union Stock Yard water tower only hints at how many thousands used to work in the area.One of the last pictures below in 1988 before the stockyards were demolished.