The Archives of Manitoba (), formerly the Provincial Archives of Manitoba () until 2003,Archives of Manitoba. Keystone Archives Descriptive Database. is the official archives of the Canadian province of Manitoba. Located in the Manitoba Archives Building at 200 Vaughan Street in Winnipeg, it preserves the records of the Government of Manitoba and acquires archival records relating to the history of Manitoba.
The archives preserves the records of the provincial government as well as archives created by individuals, organizations, municipalities, school divisions, and other private-sector bodies. It is also the official repository of the Hudson's Bay Company Archives (HBCA), which preserves the historical records of the Hudson's Bay Company and related organizations dating from 1670. These collections document the political, legal, social, economic, and cultural history of Manitoba and the Canadian West."Hudson's Bay Company. Archives Department." Keystone Archives Descriptive Database. Archives of Manitoba.
The archives was established within the Legislative Library of Manitoba in 1939 and formally established as the Provincial Archives of Manitoba in 1952. It moved to the former Winnipeg Auditorium in 1971 and was renamed the Archives of Manitoba following the proclamation of the Archives and Recordkeeping Act in 2003.Goldsborough, Gordon, and George Penner. 2019 June 1. "Historic Sites of Manitoba: Winnipeg Auditorium / Archives of Manitoba / Manitoba Legislative Library (200 Vaughan Street, Winnipeg)." Manitoba Historical Society. History In 1939, the Legislative Library Act established a Public Records and Archives branch within Manitoba's Legislative Library.
In 1973, the Hudson's Bay Company decided to move its historical archives to Winnipeg, Manitoba. The official public announcement was made on 31 July 1973, and representatives of HBC and the Manitoba government signed an agreement outlining the terms under which the archives would be placed on deposit at the Provincial Archives of Manitoba. The physical transfer of the archives was completed in the autumn of 1974 and the archives were re-opened to the public in the spring of 1975."Hudson's Bay Company. Archives Department." Keystone Archives Descriptive Database. Archives of Manitoba.
In 1978, a federal study found that per-capita spending on the provincial archives, $252, was lower than some other provinces.
In the 1980s, with the increasing use of the modern tape recorder, the Provincial Archives established its "oral history programme" as part of its general mandate to "identify, acquire and preserve records relating to the experience of the people of Manitoba."McKillip, Jocelyn. 1985 Spring. Documents and Archives: Oral History at the Provincial Archives of Manitoba." Manitoba History 9.
In 2006, the Archives of Manitoba acquired a small cache of personal, legal, business, and political records of John A. Macdonald and his son Hugh John Macdonald.Hyman, Barry. 2007 February. "Macdonald Papers at the Archives of Manitoba." Manitoba History 54. History of the HBCA In 1920, William Schooling was hired by Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) to write a history of the company. Needing to access the company records, he was provided special premises to store the archives, as well as hiring of support staff, including Richard H.G. Leveson Gower. While the writing of an official company history was abandoned in 1926, Dominion Archivist of Canada Arthur Doughty was hired that year as a consultant to organize the HBC's archives so that selected historical records could be published. By 1927, an early version of a department of archives was in place, though it would be interrupted by the Great Depression along with the ending of Doughty's contract.
With a significant amount of work on the classification, arrangement, and cataloguing of records already accomplished, in 1931, HBC formally established an Archives Department and Leveson Gower was formally appointed the first HBC archivist. In May that year, HBC announced that the archives would be made available to the public and that researchers would be allowed direct access to records created prior to 1870. Quickly developing a classification plan for the records, HBC was able to open its archives to the public in 1933.
In 1973, the HBC decided to move its historical archives to Winnipeg, Manitoba. The official public announcement was made on 31 July 1973, and representatives of HBC and the Manitoba government signed an agreement outlining the terms under which the archives would be placed on deposit at the Provincial Archives of Manitoba. The physical transfer of the archives was completed in the autumn of 1974 and the archives were re-opened to the public in the spring of 1975.
On 21 June 2007, the Hudson's Bay Company Archives’ records were announced to have been added to the UNESCO Memory of the World Register, a programme that began to protect and promote the world's documentary heritage.
In November 2019, the HBCA completed a large-scale microfilm digitization project, with funding from the Hudson's Bay Company History Foundation.
Leadership
Administration The Archives of Manitoba is part of the Government of Manitoba and is administered by the provincial department responsible for culture and heritage. Since joining that department in 1972, the archives has remained under the responsibility of the provincial department responsible for culture and heritage, although the department has been reorganized and renamed several times. Today, it is part of Manitoba Sport, Culture and Heritage.
The Archivist of Manitoba is responsible for administering the Archives of Manitoba under the Archives and Recordkeeping Act. Before the Act came into force in 2003, responsibility for approving the retention and disposal of government records rested with the Provincial Documents Committee. Since the Act took effect, that responsibility has belonged to the Archivist of Manitoba.
Provincial archivists The Archivist of Manitoba leads the Archives of Manitoba and is responsible for preserving and managing the province's archival records. Since the establishment of the Provincial Archives of Manitoba in 1952, the position has been held by the following individuals.
Hartwell W. L. Bowsfield (1952–1967) was the first full-time Provincial Archivist and helped establish the Provincial Archives of Manitoba as a professional archival institution. John Alexander Bovey (1967–1980) served as Provincial Archivist during the relocation of the archives to the Manitoba Archives Building and the transfer of the Hudson's Bay Company Archives to Winnipeg. Peter Bowers (1980–1997) served during a period when the archives expanded its management of government records and established its oral history programme. William Gordon Dodds (1998–2008) served during the implementation of the Archives and Recordkeeping Act, which renamed the institution the Archives of Manitoba in 2003. Scott Goodine (2008–present) has served during a period of expanded digitization and online access to archival collections, including the completion of the Hudson's Bay Company Archives microfilm digitization project in 2019.
Facilities
Legislative Library (1939–1971)
For more than 30 years, from 1939 to 1971, Manitoba's archival records were housed in the Legislative Library of Manitoba. The Legislative Library Act established a Public Records and Archives branch within the Library in 1939, and the Provincial Archives of Manitoba was formally established there 13 years later, in 1952. The archives remained in the Legislative Library for another 19 years before moving to the former Winnipeg Auditorium in 1971.
Manitoba Archives Building (1971–present) Since 1971, the Archives of Manitoba has been housed in the Manitoba Archives Building at 200 Vaughan Street in Winnipeg. Originally constructed as the Winnipeg Auditorium between 1931 and 1932, the building was designed by architects G. W. Northwood, C. W. U. Chivers, R. B. Pratt, D. A. Ross, and J. N. Semmens. It was built during the Great Depression as a make-work project funded jointly by the federal, provincial, and municipal governments. Its cornerstone was laid on 18 August 1932 at a ceremony attended by the Governor General of Canada, and it was officially opened on 15 October 1932 by Prime Minister R. B. Bennett.
In 1970, the Province of Manitoba purchased the Winnipeg Auditorium from the City of Winnipeg for approximately $1 million. The Archives of Manitoba and the Legislative Library of Manitoba moved into the building in 1971. Over the next four years, the province spent approximately $4 million converting the former arts and entertainment venue into an archival facility. Renovations included removing the cantilevered balconies from the main auditorium and converting the former exhibition galleries, with their large arched windows, into reading rooms for the Archives of Manitoba and the Legislative Library. Space was also reserved for the provincial Departments of Education and Agriculture for documentary and instructional film production. The building was renamed the Manitoba Archives Building and officially opened in September 1975. Today, it continues to house the Archives of Manitoba and part of the Legislative Library.
Records management From Manitoba's establishment in 1870, responsibility for managing the province's official records gradually shifted from the office of the Provincial Secretary to a dedicated archival system. Under the Provincial Secretary's Act, the Provincial Secretary served as the keeper of the province's registers and archives, while also consolidating statutes and issuing certificates and licences. In 1901, the Provincial Secretary established a register of documents filed under provincial legislation. The register recorded a synopsis of each document, where it was kept, and the legislation under which it had been filed.
By 1952, the Lieutenant Governor in Council was responsible for overseeing how government records were classified and scheduled for retention or disposal. Three years later, the Public Records Act became Manitoba's first legislation dealing specifically with the destruction, retention, and permanent preservation of public records. The Act also established the Provincial Documents Committee, which classified departmental records and prepared schedules that determined how long records were kept and when they could be disposed of.
In 1970, the Public Records Act was repealed and replaced by Part II of the Legislative Library Act. The restructured Provincial Documents Committee became responsible for records management across the provincial government and approved the Records Authority Schedule, which served as the overriding authority for the retention and disposal of government records. In 1981, the Provincial Archives of Manitoba established a Government Records Division, introducing a more effective and proactive approach to managing government records.
The Archives and Recordkeeping Act, passed in 2001 and proclaimed in February 2003, reflected changes in archival and recordkeeping practice. It renamed the Provincial Archives of Manitoba as the Archives of Manitoba and transferred responsibility for approving the retention and disposal of government records from the Provincial Documents Committee to the Archivist of Manitoba. Collections The holdings of the Archives of Manitoba are separated into two primary centres: the Government and Private Sector Archives (GPSA) and the Hudson's Bay Company Archives (HBCA).
Government and Private Sector Archives The Government and Private Sector Archives (GPSA) is responsible for the archival records of (1) the Government of Manitoba, (2) the province's private sector, and (3) the province's municipalities and school districts/divisions.