The Regina Plant was a automotive manufacturing plant owned by General Motors Canada located in

Regina, Saskatchewan Regina () is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province, after Saskatoon, and is a commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. As of the 2021 C ...

. The facility began operation on , six months after it was officially announced on . Regina was selected because Saskatchewan was centrally located in

Western Canada Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West or the Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a Canadian region that includes the four western provinces just north of the Canada� ...

and was the third most populous province in Canada. The plant had 1,000 jobs. The building was decommissioned in 2020 and as of 2021, a study is planned to be conducted on whether to demolish the building.

History

The Regina Plant was announced on and commenced operations six months after it was announced on . The plant produced

Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and ous ...

Oldsmobile Oldsmobile or formally the Oldsmobile Division of General Motors was a brand of American automobiles, produced for most of its existence by General Motors. Originally established as "Olds Motor Vehicle Company" by Ransom E. Olds in 1897, it produ ...

s, and

Pontiac Pontiac may refer to: *Pontiac (automobile), a car brand *Pontiac (Ottawa leader) ( – 1769), a Native American war chief Places and jurisdictions Canada * Pontiac, Quebec, a municipality **Apostolic Vicariate of Pontiac, now the Roman Catholic D ...

s. At the time, it was the largest manufacturing plant in Regina. In October 1929, the

Wall Street Crash of 1929 The Wall Street Crash of 1929, also known as the Great Crash, was a major American stock market crash that occurred in the autumn of 1929. It started in September and ended late in October, when share prices on the New York Stock Exchange colla ...

occurred causing car sales to decrease sharply. The plant laid off some workers in early 1930. By August 1930, all production at the plant was stopped. In March 1931, the plant reopened, but production once again stopped a few months later. In 1937, the plant reopened after General Motors spent (almost half the original cost of the plant, ) on renovations. The reopened plant had 400 jobs, under half then what it had when it originally opened. The plant also began producing

Buick Buick () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Started by automotive pioneer David Dunbar Buick in 1899, it was among the first American marques of automobiles, and was the company that established General ...

s and Maple Leaf trucks (modified Chevrolet trucks). In 1941, due to

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, plant was taking over by the

Government of Canada The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown ...

, making GM no longer the owner, renamed ''Regina Industries Limited'' and was converted to the largest munitions plant in

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

, primarily focusing on gun carriages and anti-tank guns. In 1943, the plant employed 1,596 people. After the war, the plant was no longer used for vehicle manufacturing as production and distribution techniques changed, making it impractical for General Motors to operate the plant. The plant was used by the

Department of National Defence Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philipp ...

until the mid-1960s. The building was acquired by the Government of Saskatchewan in 1967 and was used by various tenants. In 1987 the building was purchased by the City of Regina. It housed several City departments as well as private and public sector tenants. On May 3, 2017 the Regina Plant caught fire, causing significant damage to the building. The surrounding areas was blocked off and power was cut to prevent further fire. The plant is still standing and was used by several businesses for commercial purposes until 2020, when the building was decommissioned by the City of Regina. As of 2021, a study is planned to be conducted on whether to demolish the building, citing environmental concerns and

asbestos Asbestos () is a naturally occurring fibrous silicate mineral. There are six types, all of which are composed of long and thin fibrous crystals, each fibre being composed of many microscopic "fibrils" that can be released into the atmosphere b ...

in the building. The adjacent office building will not be demolished due to its heritage designation, and is still in use.

Brands produced

(cars and trucks) ** Chevrolet Maple Leaf *

References

{{General Motors factories Buildings and structures in Regina, Saskatchewan General Motors Canada Former motor vehicle assembly plants Motor vehicle assembly plants in Canada

History

Brands produced

See also

References