Provincial Agricultural Fair of Canada West
Provincial Agricultural Fair of Canada West was an annual provincial agricultural fair held in various places in Canada West and after 1867 in Ontario.
The fair was established in 1846 and sponsored by the Provincial Agricultural Association and the Board of Agriculture for Canada West. It replaced an earlier attempt in 1792 by the Agricultural Society of Upper Canada founded in Newark in 1792.
The fair was mainly an agricultural themed show featuring horses and domesticated animals from around what was still a very rural pre-Confederation Ontario. It would last until 1878 as it met competition with large number of local fairs that emerged across some towns and counties in Ontario and eventually succeeded by the Canadian National Exhibition in 1879.
List of Provincial Agricultural Association of Canada West/Ontario
| Year | Host | Notes |
| 1846 | Toronto | Held at Government House Grounds near King Street West and Simcoe Street. The amount of prizes was $1,600. The number of entries was 1,150. |
| 1847 | Hamilton | Used Old Race Grounds between Dundurn Street and Locke Street South along Aberdeen Avenue in Kirkendall area. The amount of prizes was $3,000. The number of entries was 1,600. |
| 1848 | Cobourg | Hosted by Northumberland Agricultural Society and held on land loan by Patrick Wallace in the west end of town. The amount of prizes was $3,100. The number of entries was 1,500. |
| 1849 | Kingston | Likely on same site used the then Frontenac Agricultural Society Fair c. 1825 near Kingston. The amount of prizes was $5,100. The number of entries was 1,429. |
| 1850 | Niagara | Held at Court House and 14 acres of land set aside. The amount of prizes was $5,000. The number of entries was 1,638. |
| 1851 | Brockville | Host of fair from September 24 to 26. The amount of prizes was $5,000. The number of entries was 1,466. |
| 1852 | Toronto | September 21 to September 24. North part of Grange Park. The amount of prizes was $6,000. The number of entries was 3,048. |
| 1853 | Hamilton | October 4 to 7. The amount of prizes was $6,400. The number of entries was 2,820. |
| 1854 | London, Ontario | September 24 to 26. The first year London was chosen as a host site, corresponding to London's celebration of the coming of the railroad. Fair site was north of Oxford St., and south of Grosvenor St., between Talbot St. and the Thames River. Attended in last three days by James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin. On the opening day, approximately 30,000 people attended. The amount of prizes was $7,200. The number of entries was 2,933. The floral hall hosted the first recorded public art show in London. A contemporary account notes the large size of the agricultural show, and the almost complete absence of exhibits highlighting mining and quarrying, forestry, and the Great Lakes fishery. |
| 1855 | Cobourg | October 9 to 12 |
| 1856 | Kingston | September 23 to 26 |
| 1857 | Brantford, Ontario | Held September 29 to 30 |
From 1858 the fair rotated between Toronto, Kingston, Hamilton and London in the same sequence for the duration of the fair's existence.
| Year | Host | Notes | - |
| 1858 | Toronto | Crystal Palace or Palace of Industry built near King Street West and Shaw Street | - |
| 1859 | Kingston | Held again in the city for third time. | - |
| 1860 | Hamilton | - | |
| 1861 | London | Military Garrison property near Victoria Park. The second provincial fair held in London was on September 24–27, 1861, on grounds between Waterloo and Richmond, running south of what would become Kenneth Avenue "nearly down to Central Avenue". Octagonal Crystal Palace for the fair opens September 10, 1861, designed by William Robinson, and built for $9000, sited immediately south of Great Market Street between Waterloo and Richmond. | - |
| 1862 | Toronto | September 23 to 26 | |
| 1863 | Kingston | - | |
| 1864 | Hamilton | - | |
| 1865 | London | Military Garrison property near Victoria Park. Held September 18–22, this was the fair's third time in London. | - |
| 1866 | Toronto | - | |
| 1867 | Kingston | - | |
| 1868 | Hamilton | - | |
| 1869 | London | Military Garrison property near Victoria Park. The fair took place in September, and was attended by the Governor General and Sir John A. Macdonald. | - |
| 1870 | Toronto | - | |
| 1871 | Kingston | - | |
| 1872 | Hamilton | Held September 23–27. Attended by Lord Dufferin and Lady Dufferin. | - |
| 1873 | London | Military Garrison property near Victoria Park. Held September 22–25—the 28th Provincial Fair was London's fifth. Attended by the Governor-General of Canada, Lord Dufferin. | - |
| 1874 | Toronto | - | |
| 1875 | Kingston | - | |
| 1876 | Hamilton | - | |
| 1877 | London | Military Garrison property near Victoria Park.. | - |
| 1878 | Toronto | Last year Fair was held and first time at Exhibition Grounds by New Fort with Crystal Palace disassembled and rebuilt there. | - |
Following Toronto's decision to create a permanent fair, the provincial fair was replaced by the Dominion Exhibition from 1879 until 1913.
All the remaining cities to continue with their existing fairs:
- Kingston: continued with the Frontenac Agricultural Society Fair that began in 1825 on an irregular pattern to 1925, thereafter the Kingston Fair has been held annually
- Hamilton: the closest fair in the city has been the Ancaster Fall Fair held since 1850
- London: continued with the Western Fair that began in 1868 and operating since 1885 as the only fall fair in the city
Other fairs
- Kingston Fall Fair - 1912–present, operated by the Kingston and District Agricultural Society. A revival of the previous Midland Fair which operated from 1830 until 1880.
- East Middlesex Agricultural Fair - 1841. Held annual fairs until 1868 at north-west corner of Talbot and Oxford - London, ON
- Markham Fair 1857–present, Markham, ON
- Brampton Fall Fair 1853–present, Brampton, ON
- Norfolk County Fair and Horse Show 1840–present, Simcoe, ON
- Schomberg Fair 1850–present, Schomberg, ON
- Western Fair 1868–present, London, ON
- Scarboro Fair 1844 to early 20th Century - Scarborough, ON
- Williamstown Fall Fair 1812–present, Williamstown, ON is the oldest continuing fall fair in Ontario and replacing an unnamed fair that was held in town since 1808
- Royal Agricultural Winter Fair 1922–present, held in Toronto at Exhibition Place in the Colisium
- The International Plowing Match held annually since 1913 in a different location in Ontario each year, has become the largest outdoor agricultural and rural fair in North America.
- Hants County Exhibition c. 1765 and annual since 1815 - Windsor, NS
- Canadian Western Agribition 1971 - Regina, SK
- Royal Manitoba Winter Fair 1882 - Winnipeg, MB
- Pacific National Exhibition 1910 - Vancouver, BC
- Great New York State Fair 1841 - NY State
- Provincial Agricultural Fair of Lower Canada - created in 1847 with Montreal hosting fair in 1853 but since ended. Expo Richmond Fair is the only visible and annual fall fair remaining in Quebec