Fred MacGillivray was the architect behind the Halifax Junior Canadiens, a team that captivated Halifax hockey fans from the moment of its birth in 1965. The team would leave a lasting legacy despite its lifespan of barely four years.

MacGillivray was an organizer without equal who dared think the unthinkable that an independent major junior hockey team, stocked primarily with Maritime-based talent, could compete on an equal level with counterparts across the country and challenge for the coveted Memorial Cup. The skeptics scoffed, but MacGillivray went to work.

He negotiated an arrangement with Sam Pollock of the Montreal Canadiens and attracted 60 players to training camp. With no league to play in, he put together an old-fashioned barnstorming schedule that brought Quebec and Ontario-based teams to the Halifax Forum for Saturday night and Sunday afternoon games. By 1967-68, MacGillivray pursued entry into the Ontario Hockey League, but was turned down. In 1969, the Maritime Junior A Hockey League was formed and the Junior Canadiens were sold and entered the league as the Halifax Atlantics, ending a glorious era.