Institution (cont.)

In 1943, wartime conditions again created special circumstances for the Canadian grain trade. Through government-allotted emergency powers, the wheat futures market was closed and the Wheat Board became the sole marketing authority for the grain. In 1949, it also took control of all sales of oats and barley (21), although the futures markets for these grains were allowed to remain open.

All these changes reduced the activity, essentially the open competition, of the Grain Exchange. In 1959, the Exchange's clattering telegraphs were replaced by quiet teletype machines, thus removing the background noise that had previously contributed to the sense of excitement. Even the International Wheat Agreements of the 1950's and 1960's could not compensate for the reduction in business. In response, the Exchange added new agricultural commodities, then diversified into gold, silver and financial futures. It was renamed the Winnipeg Commodity Exchange in 1972.

Today, many of the city's grain companies and those in related fields are still housed in the Grain Exchange Building. The Exchange itself relocated to the Trizec Building early in the 1980's. Innumerable other businesses and services have been located at 167 Lombard Avenue over the years, but the building itself remains a monument to Winnipeg's role as the "Chicago of the North."