Unlike Saskatchewan and Alberta, there was an active rights association in Manitoba before the 1960s called the Civil Liberties Association of Winnipeg.  The League for Democratic Rights had established branches in Brandon and Winnipeg, and Winnipeg was also home to one of the Jewish Labour Committee's human rights committees.  Surprisingly, there was little activity in Winnipeg during the 1960s and 1970s.  The Winnipeg branch of the Jewish Labour Committee was only marginally active, doing some educational work and taking on a few specific cases of discrimination.  In 1967 a Manitoba Human Rights Association was formed and changed its name to the Manitoba branch, CCLA, when it affiliated with the CCLA in 1969.  The affiliation allowed the organization to receive $20 000 of the CCLA's Ford grant, and it managed to raise an average of $12 000 to $14 000 each year afterwards to stay active.  More than 400 people attended the chapter's founding in 1969 when Pierre Burton, who sat on the Board of Directors for the CCLA, gave a talk.  Jerry Fast, a graduate student in economics, was appointed the group's first staff director.  Within a year the newly christened association presented a brief to the provincial government demanding significant revisions to the human rights code asking for the commission to report directly to the legislature and not the minister, and called for the inclusion of sex, property status, social origin, social status or other status as prohibited forms of discrimination. Unfortunately the Manitoba CCLA did not enjoy the success of its Saskatchewan counterpart and the recommendations were not accepted.

An attempt to form a chapter in Brandon was unsuccessful and the branch itself became defunct by 1975.  It had already lost its director in 1971 due to lack of funding.  By focusing on the CCLA's due process research the Manitoba group had neglected its own needs and eventually became inactive.  It was quickly replaced, however, by a new Manitoba Civil Liberties and Human Rights Association which experienced a variety of name changes, from the Winnipeg Civil Liberties and Human Rights Association in 1976 to the Manitoba Association for Rights and Liberties (MARL) in 1978.  There was some fluidity between the fall of the original CCLA branch and MARL, which also affiliated itself with the CCLA; the cash balance held by the original group was passed on the MARL when it was incorporated.  MARL's first president was Dr. Ralph E James, past president of the Carribean Canadian Association of Winnipeg and an active member of the Canadian Council of Christian and Jews.  Judge C. Rhodes Smith, former Chief Justice of Manitoba, served as honorary president.  MARL's first public action was to brief the provincial Law Amendment's Committee to oppose amendments to the Human Rights Act (Bill 65) which would have allowed discrimination in employment on grounds of race, religion, physical disability or colour where they were considered occupational requirements for work.  Bill 65 further proposed to exempt the Manitoba Insurance Company from the Human Rights Act.  Eventually the government chose not to amend the legislation in regards to race, colour, religion and handicap.  By 1981 MARL had over 350 members, although it was experiencing financial difficulties and had to be bailed out by the CCLA with an annual grant of $5000. Nonetheless, the organization overcame its difficulties and continues to be active today.

The following excerpt is from: Jeremy Patrick, "Civil Liberties Advocacy Organizations in Canada: A Survey and Critique" (February 13, 2007). bepress Legal Series. Working Paper 2007.

Founded in 1978, the Manitoba Association for Rights and Liberties [“MARL”] is the most stable of the small provincial civil liberties advocacy organizations. It receives significant funding from the United Way and has a few paid staff members. Its primary activity is education, including a workshop for high school students titled “Hate—What Have I Got to Do With It?” Until a recent loss of funding, MARL also sponsored a special Human Rights and Holocaust Education Program for high school students. The organization has a special Charter review committee to examine pending legislation in Manitoba, and has submitted five legislative briefs since 1996. MARL has been involved in a handful of court cases in its almost thirty-year
history, including interventions in cases on obscenity60 and reproductive rights, and direct sponsorship of a successful challenge to religious education in Manitoba public schools. Other activities include lobbying for same-sex marriage, a survey on assisted suicide, and publishing a handbook on the rights of teenagers. Citing low visibility and an aging (and presumably dwindling) membership, in 2005 MARL held a special session to plan a strategy for the organization’s future.