Origins
LOOKING BACK THROUGH THE
DECADES AT THE PARADE OF HOMES
BY ERIN DEBOOY
When the Parade of Homes was first introduced to the Winnipeg community 45 years ago, the group behind it didn’t wonder if it would be a success — they knew it would be.
" T
started one of the best out there.” The idea of presenting show homes to potential buyers was not necessarily new to the Winnipeg market, says Rubin Diamond, but it was a completely different approach. Diamond joined the home- building industry in 1963 with Metropolitan Homes, one of the largest builders in Winnipeg at that time. Seven years later, he founded his own company, Signature Homes.
hat was our goal— for the Parade of Homes to be successful,” says Randy
“In those days, the land devel- opers — there were only a few of them in Winnipeg — would ask builders if they would build a home in the designated area, and I remember there would be about six or seven homes that would be built,” he says. “The developer would promote it as a place the public could come and see the different styles of houses in this particular area. The homebuilders really were not instrumental in promoting it, not like they are now.”
Jaquet, founder of Randall Homes. Jaquet was one of the people in the industry pushing to bring the Parade of Homes to Winnipeg at the time, looking toward what was being done in Minneapolis and seeing its potential for the Winnipeg market. “We wanted exposure for the new homes being built and felt the Parade was a good avenue for the industry,” Jaquet says. “So we
A LOOK BACK THROUGH THE DECADES
1980 S
1990 S
10 PARADE of HOMES FALL 2025
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