The state of the elevator is a safety issue, Sandra Clark says
Another wooden grain elevator in Western Canada is coming down.
The Manitoba Pool elevator in Lyleton, in the Rural Municipality of Two Borders, should be demolished by the end of 2025, said Sandra Clark, reeve for the RM.
“We’ve tendered the job and gave it to a construction company,” Clark told Farms.com. “They’ve given us timelines and work should start before too long I would think.”
Two Borders Council received two proposals and awarded the contract to Copithorne Construction, meeting minutes from Sept. 4 say.
The elevator was built in 1928, and after renovations in 1967 could hold 128,000 bushels of grain.
During floods in 1976, water from the Souris River washed away a bridge Canadian Pacific Railway opted not to replace. The elevator closed that December and was eventually sold to a private owner.
The land the elevator sits on is municipally owned.
“If you see the elevator, you could see that it’s truly falling and is irreparable. And since the land belongs to the RM, we had to do what we felt was best,” Clark said. “We didn’t feel we had any other choice because you’re now talking about the safety and integrity of the building.”
Clark and other council members didn’t hear from anyone in the community about potentially saving the elevator, she added.
Wooden elevators are becoming rarer in Western Canada.
In 2024, for example, the former United Grain Growers elevator in Creston, B.C., was up for demolition because of deterioration.
Fire has destroyed multiple elevators, including one in Waskada, Man., this past May.
And in July, the Manitoba Historical Society put the Lake of the Woods elevator on its list of the province’s most endangered structures.
The wooden elevators can mean a lot to a community, but when safety is involved, the decisions, while tough, are easy to make.
“No one wants to see these elevators come down,” Clark said. “They represent our history and are landmarks for the people who live here. But when you’re talking about pieces of the elevator potentially falling off the building, then you unfortunately have to make the tough call.”
Top photo: Rose Kuzina