Canada was an eleventh-hour stand-in for the 1967 World's Fair, and Montreal had to pull off a miracle to get it ready on time. The fair had initially been awarded to Moscow in 1960 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Russian Revolution, but the Soviet Union backed out of its obligation. On 13 November 1962, Canada re-submitted its bid and won the opportunity to host in 1967. Organizers now had only four and a half years to prepare - rather than the intended seven years. Yet Expo 67 opened its doors in Montreal on time on 28 April 1967 - four years, five months, and fifteen days later.
Much of the credit for this success goes to the Director of Installations, Colonel Edward Churchill, a retired Royal Canadian Engineer officer. Success required bold vision and innovative solutions - the first of which was to create the site in the middle of the St Lawrence River. It took eleven months to pile up the required twenty-eight million tonnes of stone and earth before the city of Montreal officially handed over the islands to the organizing committee in July 1964 with just two years and nine months remaining.
Completing the ambitious project required building some 850 pavilions and buildings, 27 bridges, 25 kilometres of roads, 40 kilometres of sewers, 150 kilometres of pipes and 25,000 parking spots. Everything rested on the shoulders of the Director of Installations, Colonel Churchill, who would execute the construction project and coordinate over 6,000 workers.
Colonel Churchill took charge of scheduling the construction and implemented a modern project management technique: "The Critical Path Method." The method involved planning and distributing work in such a way that, with leading-edge computer monitoring, some 180 pavilions could be built simultaneously. By the Fall of 1966, all the pavilions were virtually finished, and exhibitors started setting up.
Despite the project's scope, the limited time, the technical challenges of innovative designs, and labour unrest, Expo 67 opened on 28 April 1967. Few world fairs in modern times resonated as much within their host countries and worldwide as Montreal's Expo 67.
Colonel Churchill was awarded the Order of Canada in December 1967 for his contributions to engineering in the Canadian Armed Forces, Civil Defense Construction and as Director of Installations with Expo 1967.
Further Reading: See Maclean's Magazine Article, Jun 67, REMEMBER ALL THOSE PEOPLE WHO SAID EXPO WOULD NEVER BE READY IN TIME? NOW MEET THE MAN WHO MADE LIARS OUT OF THEM.
