Sept. 1, 1956: Soviet delegation visits the Ex
The first official Soviet visit to the CNE seemed a bit fishy when the delegation arrived in total secrecy. Turns out, it was
When a Soviet delegation rolled up to the Canadian National Exhibition in 1956, the Star must have imagined them to be a crack team of KGB agents out to nab award-winning salmon and prize heifers. “RUSSIANS PAY SECRET VISIT TO CNE IN THREE BLACK CARS,” the Star’s front-page headline said on Sept. 1.
About a dozen men were seen sitting “unobtrusively” outside the CNE’s administration building earlier that morning, a few of whom wore “distinguishing wide-bottomed trousers” according to the Star.
The delegation was quietly escorted inside, and reporters were barred from following. CNE general manager Hiram McCallum told the Star none of the fair’s dignitaries were asked to receive them, “and we don’t plan to.” He wouldn’t confirm who they were.
It all screamed of “cloak-and-dagger secrecy,” as the Star put it —for about a day. Before the weekend ended, the delegation was speaking to reporters as they toured the CNE grounds snapping photos.
The visitors were far fishier than the Star originally reported.
In fact, they were from the Fisheries Ministry.
With permission from Ottawa, the delegation had been touring the Maritimes and parts of the Niagara region to better understand Canadian fishing methods. But Fisheries Minister Alexander Ishkov also wanted to see the CNE. He wasn’t disappointed. “We were thrilled with what we saw,” Ishkov told the Star through an interpreter as his delegation wandered through the crowds, sampling food and snapping pictures of each other. A national newspaper noted fairgoers astonishment at the sound of Russian conversation.
Sources told the Star the initial secrecy was due to fears the Soviets would be harassed or assaulted by onlookers if they’d been received at a formal reception. This later did happen at a stop in St. Catharines, where over 100 protesters denounced the delegation as spies and Communists.
Oddly enough, the highlight of the Ex for the delegation may have been the dog derby.
An interpreter summed up their reaction as: “We never laughed so hard in our lives.”