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In 1892 Winnipeg's first high school, "Central Collegiate", was opened on Kate St. and William Avenue with great pomp and ceremony. For twenty years Central Collegiate was the only High School and many of our best known citizens attended it. In 1917 the Central Collegiate was moved temporarily to the second floor of Isaac Brock School and the old building on Kate Street became the Maple Leaf Elementary School. Four years later the building saw another change. The school became a junior high school called Maple Leaf Junior High. Nine years later the old building now 38 years old was torn down with the completion of the Hugh John MacDonald School. A new modern school was built in 1929 on Kate Street and Bannatyne Avenue at a cost of a quarter million dollars. This present building was named after Sir Hugh John MacDonald, the eldest surviving son of the Rt. Hon. Sir John A. MacDonald, the first Prime Minister of Canada.
When the building opened in 1930, 26 classes were registered. The school body included thirteen Grade 7 classes, seven Grade 8 classes and six Grade 9 classes.
To provide for the expanding needs of the student population and the school programs, the school building was expanded in 1956 and 1963. The new facilities provided a large gym with a stage, showers and change rooms, additional classrooms and a new school office. On the second floor a large open area classroom for Social Sciences was opened with a theatre capable of comfortably accommodating 110 students.
The year 1979 stands out as another landmark in the life Hugh John MacDonald School. In that year the Library moved into the open area previously occupied by the Social Science Department and the Music Department moved into the old Library.

Who was Hugh John Macdonald?

Hugh John Macdonald was the eldest surviving son of the first Prime Minister of Canada, the Right Honourable Sir John A. Macdonald. Sir John's first acquaintance with the West was when the call went out for volunteers to rescue the Red River Settlement from Louis Riel. He returned to Winnipeg in 1882 and entered into a partnership with J.S. Tupper as a lawyer. In 1891 MacDonald was created a Queen's Counsel and in the following spring he accepted the Conservative nomination in the Federal Election of 1891. In 1911, he was appointed police magistrate for Winnipeg. In 1913, his name appeared in the King's list of birthday honors as Sir Hugh John MacDonald. He was taken ill and died on March 29th, 1929. Today, his Winnipeg home, Dalnavert at 61 Carlton Street remains a legacy of his work for the citizens of Winnipeg.

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