David Bednar

David Bednar (born 1952) is an American-born former theatre manager in Canada. He served as the general manager of the Canadian National Exhibition Association, which runs an annual fair called the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE). He retired in May 2015.

Born in Dallas, Texas, Bednar was educated in theatre and business at Bishop's University in Quebec, initially working with summer theatre programs, such as Festival Lennoxville, the Canadian Mime Theatre and, later, Shaw Festival. He Joined the theatre production company Livent in 1989, before it was spun off into its own operation. He managed the Toronto venues, Pantages Theatre and North York Performing Arts Centre, before managing the Ford Center for the Performing Arts in New York City. Bednar was chairman of the Yonge Street Business and Residents Association during the initial planning of Yonge-Dundas Square (now Sankofa Square), a significant redevelopment to Toronto's downtown.

Bednar was hired by the Canadian National Exhibition Association following a decade of financial difficulty for the fair. He made a variety of operational and programming changes over the years. Notably, he repositioned the fair's focuses as technology supplanted earlier attractions. He became a Canadian citizen in 2000, at a ceremony in the Automotive Building, during the company's fair.

Bednar retired in March, 2015. In May 2025, he renounced his US citizenship.

Early life and career Born in 1952, Bednar was raised in Dallas, Texas. His father was a petroleum engineer. Bednar attended the State Fair of Texas while growing up. He moved to Quebec in 1970, to major in theatre and minor in business at Bishop's University. while it was still a division of motion picture exhibitor Cineplex Odeon. Garth Drabinsky and Myron Gottlieb purchased the division from their employers in December 1989, as Cineplex looked to offload assets. Originally the assistant general manager of The Pantages Theatre, he became its general manager. In 1993, he moved to North York Performing Arts Centre to prepare it for the stage revival of the musical Show Boat. and general manager of theatre for its parent company, Livent. From 1997 to 1998,

Canadian National Exhibition Bednar was hired by the Canadian National Exhibition in 1998,

In response to the proliferation of the internet, the fair changed under Bednar's leadership from themes of the future to "community celebration". Bednar-era introductions include the SuperDogs animal variety performance (since 2000), and nostalgia performers at the Bandshell stage for the CNE's established older audience. He has maintained agricultural-related programming, the Exhibition's original focus, as a public awareness effort. Based on the fair's main target audience, families with young children, Bednar introduced a behavioural research study, dubbed the "family fun index". Despite Bednar's success in righting CNE through increased attendance, negative attitudes to the fair are still common among the local community. notetag|Bednar told the Star that, if "it's a good memory, we can't live up to it; if it's a bad memory, we can't live it down." Bednar retired in April 2015. The assistant general manager and director of operations, Virginia Ludy, succeeded him.

Personal life Bednar passed the Canadian citizenship test in June 1999, but it was suggested he should delay taking the Oath of Citizenship until the next year of the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) fair.

Bednar has an interest in antique cars According to Bednar, he took an interest in cars on display at the State Fair of Texas at an early age. He considers himself "a bit of a carpenter."

After retirement, Bednar and wife Alex continued to divide their time between Toronto and a vacation property in Prince Edward County. In 2020, partly due to COVID, they moved to PEC.