ICE Futures Canada (IFCA)—known as the Winnipeg Commodity Exchange (WCE) until 2008—was a derivatives market based in

Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

, and was Canada's only

commodity In economics, a commodity is an economic goods, good, usually a resource, that specifically has full or substantial fungibility: that is, the Market (economics), market treats instances of the good as equivalent or nearly so with no regard to w ...

futures exchange A futures exchange or futures market is a central financial exchange where people can trade standardized futures contracts defined by the exchange. Futures contracts are derivatives contracts to buy or sell specific quantities of a commodity or ...

.Winnipeg Free Press, January 2, 2008 – City's commodity exchange has been put on ICE
/ref> Prior to 2008, WCE was the subsidiary of WCE Holdings Inc., which also owned WCE Clearing Corporation, and Canadian Climate Exchange Inc. In 2007, WCE was purchased by the U.S.-based Intercontinental Exchange. In mid 2018, IFCA's futures and options contracts transitioned to ICE Futures U.S. (IFUS). Under the IFUS trading name, ICE continues to electronically trade Canadian contracts for milling

wheat Wheat is a group of wild and crop domestication, domesticated Poaceae, grasses of the genus ''Triticum'' (). They are Agriculture, cultivated for their cereal grains, which are staple foods around the world. Well-known Taxonomy of wheat, whe ...

, durum, western

barley Barley (), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains; it was domesticated in the Fertile Crescent around 9000 BC, giving it nonshattering spikele ...

, and

canola file:CanolaBlooms.JPG, Close-up of canola blooms file:Canola Flower.jpg, Canola flower Rapeseed oil is one of the oldest known vegetable oils. There are both Edible oil, edible and industrial forms produced from rapeseed, the seed of several ...

( rapeseed). ICE's operations in Manitoba are regulated by the Manitoba Securities Commission. In contrast, the Ontario Securities Commission has provided ICE an order that exempts it from the requirement to be recognized as a

stock exchange A stock exchange, securities exchange, or bourse is an exchange where stockbrokers and traders can buy and sell securities, such as shares of stock, bonds and other financial instruments. Stock exchanges may also provide facilities for ...

and as a commodity futures exchange in

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

History

The Winnipeg Grain & Produce Exchange was established in 1887. Initially serving as a forum for cash trades in Canadian grains, it introduced its first

futures contracts In finance, a futures contract (sometimes called futures) is a standardized legal contract to buy or sell something at a predetermined price for delivery at a specified time in the future, between parties not yet known to each other. The item tr ...

in 1904. Beginning with

futures, it subsequently added futures trading in

oats The oat (''Avena sativa''), sometimes called the common oat, is a species of cereal grain grown for its seed, which is known by the same name (usually in the plural). Oats appear to have been domesticated as a secondary crop, as their seed ...

flax Flax, also known as common flax or linseed, is a flowering plant, ''Linum usitatissimum'', in the family Linaceae. It is cultivated as a food and fiber crop in regions of the world with temperate climates. In 2022, France produced 75% of t ...

, and rye. In 1908, the Exchange was re-organized as a

voluntary Voluntary may refer to: * Voluntary (music) * Voluntary or volunteer, person participating via volunteering/volunteerism * Voluntary muscle contraction See also * Voluntary action * Voluntariness, in law and philosophy * Voluntaryism Volunt ...

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

, changing its name to the Winnipeg Grain Exchange. In 1972, with the opening of the market in

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

futures, the Exchange was renamed the Winnipeg Commodity Exchange. It also formerly operated the Canadian Financial Futures Market. In December 2004, WCE converted from the traditional " open outcry" method of trading to an electronic trading format, making it the first fully-electronic exchange in North America.Reuters, Dec. 10, 2007 1:26pm EST – Winnipeg exchange says switch to ICE goes smoothly
/ref> The privately-held WCE was purchased by the U.S.-based Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) in September 2007 for $40 million ($62.08 per common share), changing its name to ICE Futures Canada on 1 January 2008. Until December 2007, futures were traded on the platform of the

Chicago Board of Trade The Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), is an American futures exchange, futures and options exchange that was founded in 1848. On July 12, 2007, the CBOT merged with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) to form CME Group. CBOT and three other excha ...

. In mid 2018, IFCA's futures and options contracts transitioned to ICE Futures U.S. (IFUS). (The canola contract was the IFCA's last remaining futures commodity.) Brad Vannan was the president and CEO of ICE Futures Canada at the time.

Buildings

The Winnipeg Commodity Exchange buildings past and current, have been located within downtown Winnipeg. The first Commodity Exchange building was constructed in 1899 on Princess Street. The

façade A façade or facade (; ) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a loanword from the French language, French (), which means "frontage" or "face". In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important asp ...

is now part of the Red River College Princess St. Campus. The second building was located at 167 Lombard Avenue and was constructed from 1906 to 1908 by Toronto-based architectural firm Darling and Pearson. It is still in use as office space, and known as the Grain Exchange Building. The Winnipeg Commodity Exchange then moved to the Commodity Exchange Tower at 360 Main Street in 1979. In 2008, the tower was renamed to 360 Main after the Winnipeg Commodity Exchange was absorbed into the American-based Intercontinental Exchange. The present 360 Main Street is home to the Underground Shops of Winnipeg Square. Locally, the building is also known as the Artis Building since it was originally developed by Trizec. The building was completed in 1979 and is the fourth tallest building in the city, at with 31 floors. The construction of the building originally planned to have a twin building with a hotel in the middle. The foundation for the other buildings were completed but the second tower was not built until 2022, when 300 Main was constructed. Architectural plans for the second tower were updated in the interceding period, so that the second building is not an identical match with the first building as originally planned. To date, the planned hotel has not been built.

References

Bibliography

Reuters, November 2, 2007 9:13am EDT – Winnipeg wheat futures slip toward demise-trade
*{{cite book , last = Levine , first = Allan , authorlink = Allan Levine , title = The Exchange : 100 years of trading grain in Winnipeg , publisher = Peguis Publishers , location = Winnipeg , year = 1987 , isbn = 0-920541-40-2 , url-access = registration , url = https://archive.org/details/exchange100years0000levi

External links

"Winnipeg Commodity Exchange To Become ICE Futures Canada"
(press release, 2007) Commodity exchanges Defunct companies based in Winnipeg Futures exchanges Defunct financial services companies of Canada