Bain was an active member of numerous community associations, the president of the Winnipeg Winter Club and an avid outdoorsman.

The son of Scottish immigrants, Bain was born in Belleville, Ontario, and as a young child moved with his family to Winnipeg, Manitoba.

[1] His father, James Henderson Bain, was a horse buyer for the British government and upon his arrival in Canada lived in Montreal before moving west.

[3] Bain's first championship came in 1887 when he captured the Manitoba roller skating title at the age of 13 by winning a three-mile race.

[5] In 1895 Bain first played competitive ice hockey when he answered a classified ad placed in a newspaper by the Winnipeg Victorias, who were looking for new players.

This was proven during a February 14, 1896, game against the Montreal Victorias for the Stanley Cup, the trophy for the national hockey championship in Canada.

[7] A huge crowd greeted the team at the Canadian Pacific Railway station when their train, decorated with hockey sticks and the Union Jack, returned to Winnipeg.

From his first job as a bookkeeper's apprentice at a grocery broker, he moved up to junior partner when the business was sold to one of his neighbours.

He helped found the Winnipeg Winter Club on land that is now the home of the HMCS Chippawa naval reserve division.

[5] Bain also belonged to many community groups, including the Freemasons, and was the life governor of the Winnipeg General Hospital.

He bought an ownership share in the Portage Country Club, on the Delta Marsh near the south shore of Lake Manitoba, and later donated the land to Ducks Unlimited.

He strictly enforced his privacy, even building a road to his lodge that he allowed no one else to use; members of the Portage Country Club were required to take a different route.

The lodge passed into the control of the government regardless, and in 1966 was donated to the University of Manitoba as a research facility that remains active today.

[24] A quiet and reserved individual after his playing career, Bain earned a reputation as a workaholic, and was described by a friend as "salty in speech and strongly opinionated.

"[25] Bain upheld a strong moral code, including abstaining from alcohol, and led a frugal lifestyle.