Canadian Government Exhibition Commission : Until 1901 participation in foreign exhibitions was carried out in co-operation with the various provinces. Each province prepared their own exhibits while the presentation was co- ordinated by the central government. This resulted in considerable duplication and similarity of exhibits and precluded any coherent presentation. In 1901, Prime Minister Wilfred Laurier and Minister of Agriculture Sydney Fisher established the Canadian Government Exhibition Commission as part of the Department of Agriculture. The "exhibition body" was given the authority to purchase all exhibits and to install them in a manner which gave the best impression of Canada as a whole.
In 1902, Colonel William Hutchison was appointed (P.C. 879(a), May 20, 1902) the first permanent Exhibition Commissioner of the Exhibition Branch. Prior to this time the custom was for individual Commissioners to be appointed for each exhibition in which Canada participated.
By 1918 immigration was the main focus of the exhibitions and therefore leadership of the Exhibition Commission was transferred (P.C. 1348, June 3, 1918) to the new Department of Immigration and Colonization. While the promotion of immigration was the main focus of the Commission, exhibitions abroad for the Department of Trade and Commerce were also prepared. Gradually, however, trade and commerce became the main focus of the Exhibitions and in 1927, the Commission was transferred (P.C. 2282, November 29, 1927) to the Department of Trade and Commerce.
Between 1927 and the outbreak of World War II, the work of the Exhibition Commission was confined largely to exhibitions in the British Isles and continental Europe. During the War, activities were severely curtailed and personnel were released for war service or worked to promote the war effort in Canada.
Following the War, the emphasis of the Commission returned to trade and commerce and the exhibitions assisted in the re-establishment of trading patterns with former trading partners and the acquisition of new partners. The most successful vehicle for attracting trade proved to be the Canadian International Trade Fair held each spring in Toronto from 1948 to 1955. The fair attracted trading partners, both old and new, but it quickly became more of an import rather than an export/import fair and therefore the last presentation was held in 1955.
The Exhibition Commission then shifted its focus again to Canada's participation in numerous trade fairs abroad and in international expositions. The international expositions included Brussels in 1958, Expo '67 in Montreal, and Expo '70 in Osaka Japan.
In 1968 the Commission became a branch of the Department of Public Works (P.C. 1306, July 12, 1968). In 1970, with the establishment of Information Canada (P.C. 1970-559, March 26, 1970) the Commission became the Expositions Branch and later the Audio- Visual/Expositions Branch of that agency. Under Information Canada the Commission was run on a cost-recovery basis.
When Information Canada was disbanded in 1976, the Audio-Visual/Expositions Branch was transferred to the Department of Supply and Services (P.C. 1976- 496, S.I. 76/33) and became known as the Canadian Government Expositions Centre (CGEC) where it was under the control of the Supply Administration.
In 1976, the CGEC was re-organized within the Department of Supply and Service. Director WM James completed his tenure that year and the Centre reported to the minister through the Commercial Supply Service, which was part of the Supply Administration. Work within CGEC became increasingly focussed upon improved customer service and performance with greater financial and production controls implemented to aid in the achievement of a `break-even' objective. The CGEC also made greater efforts to purchase its supplies from the private sector.
Despite these changes, CGEC still produced many exhibits, including managing the production of the Canadian pavilion at the Cairo International Trade Fair (March, 1986) for External Affairs and the International Food and Drink Show in London, England in 1986.
In June 1986, the CGEC and the Canadian Government Film and Video Centre were consolidated to create the Canadian Government Expositions and Audio-Visual Centre.
