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Includes approximately 35 drafts and copies of poems, fragments, essays, and one television script.

Records relate to the lives and rights of LGBTQ+ people and people living with HIV/AIDS in Northwestern Ontario and in Canada more broadly. Records reflect the work of Belrose as an individual, and in conjunction with the AIDS Committee of Thunder Bay (ACT-B); Gays of Thunder Bay; Northern Pride; Out and About; and more.

Includes publications, especially Thunder Gay Magazine, reACT-Believe, and FrontLine; notes, minutes, and correspondence related to formal and informal activism; and news coverage and current events in a variety of media.

The collection includes physical textual materials, video and audio cassettes, digital text, and digital audio and video recordings.

Journals, writings, and photographs describing the work of railway construction in the early 1900s.

The School of Library Technology at Lakehead University operated from 1966 until 2002, administratively part of the Faculty of University Schools. It was one of only two university-based Library Technology programs in Canada.

Students enrolled in either a 2-year diploma program, or a post-graduate diploma program that could often be completed within 1 year. In the late 1980s, amid concerns that non-degree programs might no longer be funded by the Ontario government, there was a proposal to create a 3-year Bachelor of Arts in Library and Information Studies.

The records consist of:

School Administration: Includes reports, plans and proposals, newsletters, and reference material spanning the year of the School's operation.

Student Experience: Includes yearbooks, photographs, and scrapbooks of students and graduates of the program.

Frederick O. Robinson was born in Port Arthur, Ontario on Aug. 2, 1903. He attended public and high school in Port Arthur and then served his apprenticeship to the machinist trade in the C.N.R. shops. He worked for 25 years as a skilled machinist in the Port Arthur shops of the C.N.R. until his election to the Ontario legislature in 1943. He continued to work as a C.N.R. machinist between sessions of the legislature, and after his election to the office of mayor, he worked in the C.N.R. shops on weekends.

He entered public life in January 1943 when he was elected to the Port Arthur Board of Education. In August of the same year he was elected to the Ontario legislature as C.C.F. member for Port Arthur. He was M.L.A. for Port Arthur until his defeat in 1951. In civic affairs, he remained on the Board of Education until 1946 when he was elected as alderman. In 1949, he became Mayor of Port Arthur; he remained in this post except for 1952 when he was defeated until 1955 when he resigned to become personnel manager for the Public Utilities Commission. He left active political life at this time. He resigned from the Public Utilities Commission in 1966 because of ill health. In July, 1969, he died.

The Frederick O. Robinson fonds comprises 7 feet of correspondence, clippings, pamphlets, articles and other material and is contained in seventeen transfer cases. The folder titles in the main are those designated by Mr. Robinson. Some re-arrangement of the material has been effected in order to comply with the folder titles. Since the folders themselves were in no apparent order when .they were donated to the university, the following arrangement was thought to be most suitable for research purposes:
I. Pre-1943 Period
II. Political Affairs (relating to the C.C.F.)
III. The Ontario Legislature and Provincial Affairs, 1943-51
IV. Provincial and Local Affairs.
V. Local and Municipal Affairs.
VI. General
VII. Miscellaneous

The fonds consists of New Democratic Party (NDP) campaign and fundraising material. Reference documents have a national focus; some materials address local candidates and campaigns. Most records are 1980-1987; there is also a small amount of material related to the 2015 federal election.

Consists of reports, letters, and minutes of the Lakehead Region Conservation Authority.

Research notes and correspondence of Dr. Elizabeth Arthur, professor of history at Lakehead University.

Correspondence, diaries, and reports related to the philosophical and social theories of Dr. Douglas J. Thom, professor emeritus of education at Lakehead University.

Dr. James T. Angus was the first Dean of Education for Lakehead University.

The fonds consist of Dr Angus’s copies of correspondence, reports, memos, agenda and minutes, and printed material related to the integration of Lakehead Teachers’ College into Lakehead University; establishment of the Faculty of Education; graduate programs in education; program for training Indigenous teachers for First Nations schools in Northwestern Ontario. Activities documented include policy, procedures and programme development, budget planning, proposals, appraisals and surveys; evolution of the faculty’s administrative structure; development of curriculum and delivery of courses.

Claude Garton was a teacher and botanist. He amassed a collection of over 10,000 plant specimens, which were donated to form the Herbarium at Lakehead University. These records relate largely to his plant observations and collections.

The records related to cancer diagnosis and care in Northwestern Ontario, and across Ontario more broadly. Information found in this collection covers a wide variety of material which include, but are not limited to: cancer care prevention, early diagnosis and care, clinical trial notes and lectures, information on screening for cancer and breast cancer. Information regarding the Thunder Bay Regional Hospital (Ethics Committees, Pilot Projects) and the Lakehead University Centre for Health Care can be found within this collection on Cancer Care.

Correspondence, reports, and minutes regarding logging and forest conservation in Quetico Provincial Park collected by Dr. Harold S. Braun of Lakehead University.

Records detailing the planning and execution of the Canada Sea-to-Sea Alexander Mackenzie Bicentennial Expeditions, 1989-1993, to celebrate the bicentennial of the voyages of Alexander Mackenzie, who was the first European person to cross Canada and reach the Pacific Ocean. Expedition leader was Dr. Jim Smithers, of Lakehead's School of Outdoor Recreation, Parks, and Tourism.

Students traced Mackenzie's routes travelling by canoe and overland, and held events in communities along the way.

1989: from Fort McMurray, Alberta to Kendall Island on the Beaufort Sea
1990-1991: development of educational materials and full plan
1991: Lachine, Quebec, to Winnipeg, Manitoba
1992: Winnipeg, Manitoba, to Peace River, Alberta
1993: Peace River, Alberta, to Mackenzie Rock, British Columbia

Records include planning documents, brochures, sponsorship information, route maps, and reports.

Margaret Phillips began her career in municipal recreation, and became an advocate and activist for feminist and social justice issues. She was a founder of the Northern Woman's Bookstore, an executive director of the Lakehead Social Planning Council, and on the board of directors of Inter Pares, among other work.

These records relate to the establishment and first years of operation of the Women's Studies program at Lakehead University. After a proposal in 1988, the first classes ran in the 1990-1991 academic year. The program developed quickly, with more courses added and cross-listed, and Women's Studies was granted status as a Department in 2002.

The records, most of which date 1990-1996, include minutes of the Women's Studies Advisory Committee, and correspondence about the program and its courses. Some files also relate to fundraising, and local events and issues.

The records include Faculty of Law newsletters and promotional material, and a set of building plans for renovations of the former PACI building.

The Bora Laskin Faculty of Law was established at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay in 2013.

Einar and Hilma Kajander were immigrants from Finland, and were active in local organizations. Their son Art was a lawyer, and later Finnish Consul. Grandchild Ann is faculty at Lakehead University.

These photographs depict the Kajander family and their friends, in and about the Port Arthur area, approximately 1900 to 1970. The photographs include studio portraits and candid photographs printed at a variety of sizes. The images primarily depict family life and outdoor recreation.

Einar Kajander (1882-1973) and Hilma (Muhonen) Kajander (1886-1965) met in Canada and married in Port Arthur in 1909. Einar worked as a miner, and later opened a grocery store in Port Arthur. Both were involved with local sports organizations and the Finnish Labour Temple, and Hilma sang in Oras Choir.

Aatto Arthur Kajander (1913-1998) attended university in Toronto, was a lawyer in Thunder Bay for 55 years, and served as Finnish Consul appointed in 1957. He was also heavily involved in music and outdoor activities.

A prominent businessman who operated a timber firm as well as Gravel and Lake Services Ltd in Port Arthur. The collection consists of correspondence, ledgers, scrapbooks, pamphlets and photographs primarily related to the timber industry.

Records are arranged into the following series:
Camps
Correspondence
Ledgers
Scrapbooks
Photographs

These are the records of the Chief Librarian (University Librarian) of Lakehead University (Lakehead Technical Institute, Lakehead College of Arts, Science, and Technology.)

The records document the management and administration of the Lakehead University Library, including the construction of the Library building, policies, acquisitions, staffing, and more. Correspondence provides insight into the workings of the library during a period of library and academic expansion, computerization and transition.

The Chief Librarian had a significant role as a member of University administration, and participated on Faculty Council, Senate, and numerous committees. Records here reflect those bodies and their work throughout this time period, including proposed and new programs, enrollment, new construction, governance, and long range planning.

The Library's role in partnership with other organizations provincially, nationally, and internationally is also represented. Many libraries were adopting new technologies at this time, which allowed for more communications and cooperation, on projects including computerized cataloguing and inter-library loan.

The time period covered in these records includes major developments and changes within Lakehead University, and in the cultures and technologies of universities and libraries.

Includes records of ceremonies and events, and records related to the Coat of Arms of the University.

Marshall Blanchard Dean was an early physician in Fort William; his son Marshall Macdougall Dean had a career with the Canadian Coast Guard and a lifelong interest in history and genealogy. Collection includes correspondence, photographs, and research materials.

The CTKL fonds receives its title from Canadan Teollisuusunionistinen Kannatus Liitto, the Finnish organization which translates to the Canadian Industrial Union Support Circle. This organization was the majority shareholder of the Labour Temple at 314 Bay Street in Port Arthur from 1925 to 1972 and was disbanded in 1979. Prior to 1926, the central administration of the CTKL was in Sudbury after which it relocated to Port Arthur.

The CTKL was made up of supporters of industrial unionism who formed associations in their own local communities and observed rules and regulations as established by an executive committee. This executive committee, the Toimeenpanevakomitea (TPK), was comprised of members of the CTKL elected annually from the central administration and from the local associations. This committee managed the affairs of the league and supported industrial unionism through agitation by engaging speakers, supporting workers in their union activities, and through monetary assistance, as well as writing, publishing, and distributing written materials.

Significant cultural and social events at the Labour Temple and at other branches were supported by the CTKL during the peak years of labour organization.

The records contain minutes of meetings, correspondence, financial records, publications, and miscellaneous items. The fonds has been divided into series as follows:
A - Finnish Building Company
B - Hoito Restaurant
C - One Big Union
D - CTKL
E - Industrial Workers of the World
F - Lumber Workers Industrial Union #120
G - Canadian News Service
H - Miscellaneous

Records relate to Ernie Epp's work as a professor at Lakehead University, and as an MP and member of the NDP. Includes a significant amount of local and national news clippings, CCF/NDP documents, and House of Commons records.

Records of the Canadan Suomalainen Järjestö [Finnish Organization of Canada], Vapaus Publishing Company (responsible for publishing Vapaus and Liekki and other publications), Suomalais-Canadalaisen Amatoori Urheiluliiton [Finnish-Canadian Amateur Sports Federation], co-operatives, and more.

Includes meeting minutes, reports, financial statements, and correspondence related to the operations and administration of these organizations. Also includes a variety of document and pamphlets related to socialism, communism, and the peace movement in Canada and worldwide.

The Canadan Suomalainen Järjestö (CSJ; Finnish Organization of Canada) is the oldest nationwide Finnish cultural organization in Canada. For over a century the CSJ has been one of the main organizations for Finnish immigrants in Canada with left-wing sympathies and, in particular, those with close ties to the Communist Party of Canada. Through the early to mid 1920s, Finnish-Canadians furnished over half the membership of the Communist Party and some, like A.T. Hill (born Armas Topias Mäkinen), became leading figures in the Party. Beyond support for leftist political causes, the cooperative and labour union movements, many local CSJ branches in both rural and urban centres established halls – some 70 of which were built over the years in communities across Canada – that hosted a range of social and cultural activities including dances, theatre, athletics, music, and lectures. The CSJ is also known for its publishing activities, notably the Vapaus (Liberty) newspaper.

The CSJ underwent several changes in its formative years related to both national and international developments. Founded in October 1911 as the Canadan Suomalainen Sosialisti Järjestö (CSSJ; Finnish Socialist Organization of Canada), the organization served as the Finnish-language affiliate of the Canadian Socialist Federation which soon after transformed into the Social Democratic Party of Canada (SDP). By 1914, the CSSJ had grown to 64 local branches and boasted a majority of the SDP membership with over 3,000 members. One year later the organization added two more local branches but membership had dropped to 1,867 members thanks, in part, to a more restrictive atmosphere due to Canada’s involvement in the First World War and an organizational split that saw the expulsion or resignation of supporters of the Industrial Workers of the World from the CSSJ.

In September 1918, the Canadian federal government passed Order-in-Council PC 2381 and PC 2384 which listed Finnish, along with Russian and Ukrainian, as ”enemy languages” and outlawed the CSSJ along with thirteen other organizations. The CSSJ successfully appealed the ban in December 1918 but dropped ”Socialist” from its name. The organization operated under the name Canadan Suomalainen Järjestö until December 1919. The SDP, however, did not recover from the outlawing of its foreign-language sections, leaving the CSJ without a political home. Stepping into this organizational vacuum was the One Big Union of Canada (OBU), founded in June 1919. The CSJ briefly threw its support behind this new labour union initiative, functioning as an independent ”propaganda organization of the OBU” until internal debates surrounding the structure of the Lumber Workers Industrial Union affiliate and the OBU decision not to join to the Moscow-headquartered Comintern led to its withdrawal shortly thereafter. In 1924, CSSJ activists including A.T. Hill helped to found the Lumber Workers Industrial Union of Canada (LWIUC).

Inspired by the Bolshevik Revolution that toppled the Tsarist Russian Empire in November 1917, and following the founding of the Communist Party of Canada (CPC) as an underground organization in May 1921, the CSSJ rapidly became an integral part of the nascent Communist movement in Canada. Reflecting this change, in 1922 the organization was renamed the Canadan Työläispuolueen Suomalainen Sosialistilärjestö (FS/WPC; Finnish Socialist Section of the Workers’ Party of Canada) – the Workers’ Party of Canada being the legal front organization of the CPC. In 1923, Finnish-Canadian Communists formed a separate cultural organization, the Canadan Suomalainen Järjestö (CSJ; Finnish Organization of Canada Inc.), to serve as a kind of ”holding company” ensuring that the organization’s considerable properties and assets would be safe from confiscation by the government or capture from rival left-wing groups. With the legalization of the CPC in 1924, the FS/WPC became the Canadan Kommunistipuolueen Suomalainen Järjestö (FS/CP; Finnish section of the Communist Party of Canada). Between 1922 and 1925, membership in the CSJ through its various transitions also doubled as membership in the Communist Party. This arrangement ended in 1925 when the FS/CP was disbanded following the ”bolshevization” directives of the Comintern. These directives demanded that separate ethnic organizations in North America be dissolved in favour of more disciplined and centralized party cells. It was hoped that this reorganization would help attract new members outside of the various Finnish, Ukrainian, and Jewish ethnic enclaves that had furnished the bulk of the CPC dues paying membership in Canada. From this point onwards, the CSJ officially functioned as a cultural organization but maintained a close, albeit sometimes strained, association with the CPC. The 1930s represent the peak of the CSJ size and influence, occuring during the Third Period and Popular Front eras of the international Communist movement. During this period CSJ union organizers assisted in the creation of the Lumber and Sawmill Workers Union – a unit of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of the American Federation of Labor, successor to the LWIUC – and the reemergence of the International Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers in Sudbury and Kirkland Lake. CSJ activists also helped to recruit volunteers for the International Brigades that fought against nationalist and fascist forces in the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). Finally, in the 1930s some 3,000 CSJ members or sympathizers embarked on the journey from Canada to the Soviet Union to help in the efforts to industrialize the Karelian Autonomous Soviet. Hundreds of Finns in Karelia would later perish in Stalin’s purges.

Despite the CSJ’s active support for the Canadian war effort, the organization was still deemed to be a threat to national security by the federal government and again outlawed in 1940. All FOC properties were seized and closed. The Suomalais Canadalaisten Demokraattien Liitto (SCDL; Finnish-Canadian Democratic League) served as the FOC’s main legal surrogate until the organization was legalized in 1943. The rapid decline of the FOC following this period is apparent from the fact that of the 75 locals in operation in 1936, only 36 remained active in 1950.

Further reading:
Edward W. Laine (edited by Auvo Kostianen), A Century of Strife: The Finnish Organization of Canada, 1901-2001 (Turku: Migration Institute of Finland), 2016.
Arja Pilli, The Finnish-Language Press in Canada, 1901-1939: A Study of Ethnic Journalism (Turku: Institute of Migration), 1982.
William Eklund, Builders of Canada: History of the Finnish Organization of Canada, 1911-1971 (Toronto: Finnish Organization of Canada), 1987.