Talk of an auditorium in Brandon, Manitoba first began on February 15th, 1953, at a Brandon City Council Meeting. After debates on where the new hall should be built, Brandon University offered, in 1956, a space next to what is now the campus’ Queen Elizabeth II Music Building. In 1962, Premier Duff Roblin approved the project to be built for Canada’s centennial in 1967, thus the title, Western Manitoba Centennial Auditorium.
WMCA’s Main Entrance – Brandon and Area Photograph Collection (BAPC 2.28), S.J. McKee Archives
With limited funding and a construction cost of over $1.7 million, the project was not completed until 1969 – just one year before Manitoba’s Centennial. Nevertheless, notable Manitoban architects Ward MacDonald, along with Pearson Construction, executed the structure that has been virtually unchanged since its grand opening on October 11th, 1969.
Since then, the WMCA has seen numerous performances and groups use the facility, and it has become a centre for performing arts in Brandon.