Speakers Name & Presentation:
Todays’ speaker was Dale Edward Johnson an award-winning automotive journalist and author. He has written over 2000 articles for radio, blogs, newspapers and magazines. A life long lover of motor vehicles he also restores them.
Dale’s topic was “The History of the GM plant in Regina”. Who knew there was a GM plant in Regina?
In the 1920’s the economy in Regina was booming. People were buying automobiles. GM was overtaking Ford as they had more styles and variety of models. The GM plant in Oshawa was at capacity and they needed another location to meet demand. After a search by one of their top people - Harry Augie - it was decided they would build in Regina. Saskatchewan’s population was around 1,000,000, (the third most populous Province in Canada) it was very prosperous and there was strong local demand for automobile ownership. In addition, there was a good supply of labour and it was centrally located to the Western Provinces which facilitated shipping their vehicles to Manitoba and Alberta.
in May 1928 GM purchased 38 acres of land @ $1,000/acre at Winnipeg and 8th. Sam McLaughlin, the then President of GM visited Regina for the ground-breaking ceremony and construction of their plant commenced. It was the largest building in Regina. The building was completed on December 11th, 1928 and the plant, under the management of Harry Augie, opened with a staff of 850. producing Chevrolet, Oldsmobile and Pontiac vehicles. This was a tremendous boom to the Regina economy - not only the plant itself but also the various related companies that opened to support GM such as a glass factory and paint factory.
The stock market crashed, the demand for vehicles vanished and the factory closed in August 1930.
The plant reopened in March 1931 but only operated for a few months. The plant once again reopened in 1937 after GM spent some $700,000 on renovations. It now had a staff of only 400.
In 1941 due to WWII the plant was taken over by the Government of Canada, renamed Regina Industries Limited and became the largest munitions plant in Saskatchewan. After the war the plant was no longer used for vehicle manufacturing.
A significant part of this story is the close symbolic connection between GM and the First Nations people - specifically a personal relationship that developed between Harry Augie and Chief Red Dog of the Star Blanket First Nation. GM recognized its location on Treaty 4 land and within the traditional territory of the Cree and Metis. Chief Red Dog, representing the Nation, attended the grand opening in 1928 and presented Mr. McLaughlin with a ceremonial headdress and moccasins.
Dale reviewed a number of letters exchanged between Chief Red Dog and Mr. Augie.
A most informative presentation.
Dale was thanked and recognized by those in attendance.
Acting Chair Al presented Dale with one of our speaker’s gifts - a Britannica All New Kids Encyclopedia.
Reports and Announcements:
Service Project: Our next monthly commitment at Soul’s Harbour is Thursday September 18th4:00 to 6:00 pm. 1632 Angus Street. Enter by the side door. We serve meals, coffee, collect the used plates and put away the tables. A good opportunity to provide some assistance to folks who need a hand-up. Our next date is October 16th.
Service Project: On August 15th members of both our club and Eastview Club packed some 800 backpacks at The Salvation Army for their back-to-school program. Thanks to the following members of our club: Ian Yeates, Stewart & Gilda, Art Wakabayashi, George Carson, Russ Hart and Doug Keam. You made la difference.
Club Membership:
Please give some thought to considering who you feel would be a good addition to our club - and put the wheels into motion to have them become a member. Prospective members get two free meals to familiarize themselves with what we have to offer and how our meetings run. Our District has a program of providing a $100. rebate per each new member and a further $100. per net member increase as at July 1st, 2026.
Family memberships: The second member of a family who joins gets a 50% reduction in the cost of their membership.
Corporate Memberships: Second or subsequent members from the same company receive a discount on the cost of their membership.
Board Vacancies: Looking to get more involved in Rotary? We are still looking for individuals to fill the following positions: Vice President, President Elect, Membership, Service Projects, Socia
Service Project: Our club executive is considering organizing a paper shredding/recycling fund raiser. A paper processing truck would set up in a mall parking lot. Public notice would be given. It would be important for every club member to use their business contacts to promote participation in the fundraiser. Participants would bring their papers for recycling and the club would receive a portion of the fee paid to the recycling company for the service.
