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The great war had, as with all things, a great influence on the CCEA. When the fair opened on Sept. 11, 1914, World War I had already been raging for more than a month. Princess Patricia attended the grandstand to present her Canadian Infantry Regiment with colours she had made herself. At the close of the fair, the Board of Directors held a meeting to determine whether, due to the war, the fair should be held in 1915. It was decided that the fair would go ahead as scheduled. |
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In the intervening year, the Department of National Defence had taken over the grounds for use in training troops to go overseas. Tensions in the town were high, and the fair did its part to help ease them and contribute to a peace of mind. In 1916, in order to boost moral, the Ex decided to admit every man in military uniform free to the grounds everyday. One of the exhibits that year was a full-size model trench. Designed to give everyone a sense of what it was really like to be in the trenches, the CCEA presumed that this exhibit would help to ease people's fears about trench life; this was a form of white-washing, however, as it neglected to address the reality of fighting in the muddy, rat and disease-infested trenches. By 1919, when the war had ended, everyone was ready to celebrate, and this showed prominently in the attendance figures at the fair. The exhibition ran from Sept. 6 to Sept. 15, and saw a record number of 300,000 visitors -- a number so impressive that the CCEA requested they be allowed to run an extra three days; unfortunately, this request was denied. Appropriately for such a great celebration, Mardi Gras was the closing feature.  By this time, the CCE had received wide acclaim as one of the biggest and best fairs in Canada, second only to the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto in size and importance. There was a recession after the war (the booming twenties didn't start until the mid-1920s) and to help alleviate the economic difficulties of as many people as possible, the fair employed civil servants only where necessary and the unemployed wherever possible. In 1925, admission was reduced so that six people could go to the fair for $1. In 1926, Ottawa's centenary celebration was held a week before the fair, which cost the Ex some of its revenue for that year. That year also saw several additions and renovations to the grounds, including a brand new building designed for the Pure Foods Show. In 1928, the Board of Control allowed celebrations of the fair to extend by authorizing the expenditure of $200 on decorating some of the downtown streets with streamers and banners for Ex week. On October 24th, 1929, the stock market crashed, beginning 10 years of economic depression. Despite the economy, the fair continued to run, and continued, most years, to make a profit. In 1931, the Ex was the first exhibition in Canada to establish a department for Junior Farmers, the forerunner of today's 4-H Clubs. A few years later, the fair added a hobby show for children. The fair, which had always been geared towards adults, was beginning to take a more active approach towards appealing to youth. In 1937, for the fair's 50th anniversary, it extended its run from six to nine days. The fair of 1939 had barely closed when, on Sept. 3, Canada declared that it would join the Allied forces in World War II.  Almost immediately after the declaration of war, the Department of National Defence took over the exhibition grounds once again for the purpose of training troops. The CCEA announced that it would not be holding the fair during wartime so that the military could continue to use the grounds for training. It was recommended that the CCEA's lease of the property be extended by the number of years for which the fair was cancelled due to the war. By 1941, despite the war, the fair was back on, due to popular demand. The exhibits were arranged in 149 tents, making it the largest tented exhibition ever in Canada. Total attendance to the tented fair was 247,794, up 17,000 from the fair in 1939. The fairs during the rest of World War II were cancelled. Although the exhibition had been cancelled, the Junior Farmers were kept intact, and would show their support by showing up in droves for the fair as soon as it recommenced in 1947. As well, the CCEA staff and Board of Directors continued to meet and to plan the gala return of the Ex for the first year after the war. |
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[The First Fairs in Ottawa]
[The Early Years]
[The War Years] [Post World War II] [The Modern Era] |
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