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The Hamilton Spectator's first issue was published on 15 July 1846 in Hamilton, Ont. It was founded as a semi-weekly, the first newspaper in what became the Southham chain. Recently there have been ownership changes; the current owners are TDNG Inc., a subsidiary of Torstar Corp.

The Canadian Peace Congress (CPC) is an organized movement of people and groups in Canada working for peace and supporting the ideals of the United Nations. It is part of the movement led by the World Council of Peace, which itself was formally founded in 1950 after organizing conferences in 1949. The CPC was founded between December of 1948 and May of 1949, as a response to the beginning of the Cold War. The problem regarding the founding date stems from the fact that the original meeting in December 1948 established the Toronto Peace Council, known later as the Toronto Association for Peace, which appointed members to a provisional committee, which in turn organized the first national congress meeting in May 1949. The original meeting was attended by representatives of 47 different organizations and groups, including women's, youth and church groups, trade unions, and ethnic associations. At the subsequent meeting a National Council was set up which elected an executive to run the Congress. The CPC evolved over time to contain various peace councils across Canada as well as affiliated organizations such as the Trade Union Peace Committee, the Communist Party of Canada, the Federation of Russian Canadians and the United Jewish People's Order, to name but a few. The work of the CPC has included organizing conferences to support peace, oppose the arms race, and keep peace issues at the forefront of public attention. Petitions, education, and government lobbying are some of the methods employed by the CPC. In addition, the CPC became closely involved with the Soviet Peace Committee with members of both groups frequently visiting each other's countries. The CPC also maintained a relationship with its Quebec counterpart, Conseil québécois de la paix. The Congress was directed by Chairman James G. Endicott until 1972. He was succeeded by John H. Morgan, who took the title of President and held it until 1986. The final leader of CPC was Lari Prokop. Jean Vantour was Executive Secretary until 1982; she was succeeded by Gordon Flowers who took the title of Executive Director. Although not formally dissolved, the CPC has been very inactive since 1992.

On 8 January 1946 the Canadian Industrial Workers Union, Canadian Congress of Labour, Local 2, voted to dissolve itself and be reconstituted as the United Mine Workers of America, District 50, Canadian Chemical Division, Local 13083. An earlier vote in 1945 had failed to gain agreement. Members of the local were employed by Canadian Industries Ltd. (C-I-L), General Chemicals Division.

The United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America was first formed in the United States in 1881. On 25 March 1958 it granted a charter to Local 1916, effective 1 April of that year.

The International Union of Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers (IUE-CIO) held its first annual convention, 25-6 October 1952, in Guelph, Ont. It was affiliated with the IUE in the United States which had been founded in 1949. The union members in Canada formed part of District Five until 1965 when the district was renamed the Canadian District. The IUE Canadian District merged with the Communications Workers of Canada (CWC) in 1983. The new organization was called the Communications, Electronic, Electrical and Technical Workers of Canada. In 1985 the name was changed to the Communications and Electrical Workers of Canada; in 1992 the name became the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada as a result of a merger with the Canadian Paperworkers Union and the Energy and Chemical Workers of Canada.

The date that Local 414 received its charter is not known. The first Canadian local was chartered in 1890. The first extant records for Local 414 date from 1902. Local 414 merged with Local 1260 in April 1954.

The International Brotherhood of Painters and Allied Trades was chartered on 29 June 1956 for all the union painters, glaziers and allied trades in the area of Kitchener and Waterloo, Ontario. It officially changed its name to International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, in August 1999, to better reflect its membership of men and women.

The International Brotherhood of Painters and Allied Trades officially changed its name to International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, in August 1999, to better reflect its membership of men and women.

Local 1795 received its charter from the International Brotherhood of Painters, Decorators, and Paperhangers on 8 December 1954. Members of this local are glaziers. The International Brotherhood of Painters and Allied Trades officially changed its name to International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, in August 1999, to better reflect its membership of men and women.

Local 1795 received its charter from the International Brotherhood of Painters, Decorators, and Paperhangers on 8 December 1954. Members of this local are glaziers. International Brotherhood of Painters and Allied Trades officially changed its name to International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, in August 1999, to better reflect its membership of men and women.

Local 205 received its charter on 27 June 1900 from the Brotherhood of Painters and Decorators of America. Meetings to organize the local began in August 1899, after the failure of Local 27. Members of Local 205 work for a variety of different contractors. This history of Local 205 has been written in two-coil bound, mimeographed books. The first on is located with the fonds and was written by George McMenemy. The second book has been catalogued for Archives and Research Collections. The International Brotherhood of Painters and Allied Trades officially changed its name to International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, in August 1999, to better reflect its membership of men and women.

Local 205 received its charter on 27 June 1900 from the Brotherhood of Painters and Decorators of America. Meetings to organize the local began in August 1899, after the failure of Local 27. Members of Local 205 work for a variety of different contractors. This history of Local 205 has been written in two-coil bound, mimeographed books. The first one is located with the fonds and was written by George McMenemy. The second book has been catalogued for Archives and Research Collections. The International Brotherhood of Painter and Allied Trades officially changed its name to International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, in August, 1999, to better reflect its membership of men and women.

The workers at Artistic Woodwork Co. staged a four month strike in Toronto in 1973. Strike issues included the rights of immigrant workers to organize, the use of undercover strike breakers, and the role of the police. There were 108 arrests during the strike, including strike supporters such as a United Church minister. An agreement was eventually reached but within three years a decertification vote was held. In 1992 the CTCU joined the Canadian Auto Workers as Local 40.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) was formed in 1963 by a merger of the National Union of Public Employees and the National Union of Public Service Employees.

Peace Brigades International was founded in Canada on 4 September 1981. Peace workers from Europe, Canada, United States and India met at Grindstone Island and issued a founding statement which read in part "[We] will undertake nonpartisan missions which may include peacemaking initiatives, peacekeeping under a discipline of nonviolence, and humanitarian service."

Local 5167 consists of seven units, from DARTS, Macassa and Wentworth Lodges, Royal Botanical Gardens, Good Shepherd Centres, Hamilton International Airport and the City of Hamilton with both outside and inside working groups. This Local came about from the merger of the working groups from Town of Dundas, Town of Stoney Creek, Town of Flamborough, Town of Glanbrook, City of Hamilton, Hamilton International Airport and the organizing of Good Shepherd Centres –Women’s Services in early 2000. Union members of this local previously belonged to either Local 5 or Local 167.

Local 5 members are employees of the City of Hamilton, the Regional Municipality of Hamilton-Wentworth, Royal Botanical Gardens, Flamborough, Glanbrook, Mount Hope Airport, and Third Sector Recycling.

City of Hamilton workers were first organized in 1918 as part of the American Federation of Labour. In April 1933 the organization moved to the Trades and Labour Congress of Canada as the Civic Maintenance Association, number 33. It joined the Canadian Congress of Labour on 25 April 1943, as the Hamilton Civic Employees Union, without a local number. It received its local designation 5 when it joined the National Organization of Civic Utilities and Electrical Workers on 1 January 1945. Local 5 joined with the National Union of Public Service Employees (NUPSE) on 11 September 1953 which in turn joined with the National Union of Public Employees (NUPE) to form the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) on 24 September 1963. In 2000 Local 5 joined with Local 167 to form Local 5167.

For a more extensive history, see Ed Thomas, The Crest of the Mountain: The Rise of CUPE Local Five in Hamilton (1995). The book has been catalogued for Research Collections; a second copy can be found in the fonds.

The Copp Clark Company is best known as a Canadian educational publisher, with forays into board games and greeting cards. The history of Copp Clark Company can be traced back to 1841, when Hugh Scobie, a Scotsman opened a book and stationery store on King Street East in Toronto. In 1847 he produced the first edition of the Canadian Almanac and Directory, published annually thereafter. After Scobie’s death, the firm changed hands and names several times until 1869 when two employees, William Copp and Henry Clark, gained control, eventually giving the company the name of The Copp Clark Company Limited.

By the early 1900s, Copp Clark had evolved into a major educational publisher of textbooks, primarily in language arts and mathematics. As well as producing books and stationery items, the company established its own typesetting, printing and binding operations, branching out into games and greeting card manufacturing. In 1900 the company moved to a new office and warehouse on Front Street in Toronto, but the building was destroyed by fire in 1904. Copp Clark acted as agents for many American and British publishers and published works by such notable authors as Sir Winston Churchill, G.K. Chesterton, Joseph Conrad, Rudyard Kipling and Edith Wharton.

In 1965 the business was bought by Pitman Publishing, and the name was changed to Copp Clark Pitman. Copp Clark Pitman was affiliated with Longman (owned by Pearson P.L.C.), which purchased the press in 1985. Copp Clark Pitman celebrated its 150th anniversary in 1991. In June 1998, Copp Clark Professional, the only remaining division of Copp Clark, closed its office on Front St. in Toronto. Copp Clark Professional is currently located in Mississauga, Ont., and is a leading publisher of financial calendars.

The Canadian poet John W. Curry (jw curry) created the Curvd H&z Press in Toronto in 1979. Curvd H&z Press continues the tradition of such 1960s Canadian poetry presses as Gronk, Ganglia and Blewointment. It is particularly interested in offbeat, experimental, concrete and sound poetry. The writers include such well-known poets as bp nichol and Steve McCaffery, and lesser known ones like Peggy Lefler, William Maki and John Curry himself.

The National Committee for Independent Canadian Unions, based in Toronto, was formed in 1973 and operated until 1976. One of the donors of the fonds, Terence W. Barker, wrote of the organization: "it operated ... as a fellow traveller of the Canadian Liberation Movement (Marxist/Leninist/Maoist). Not surprisingly, perhaps, it was dissention-ridden from start to finish." Barker believes he was the last official spokesperson for the National Committee at the founding congress in Ottawa in October 1976 of the Canadian Voice for Independence, one of the successor organizations to the National Committee for Independent Canadian Unions. Barker also included some records of other associations either affiliated with the National Committee or of which Barker was a member, including the North York High School Teachers' Association, 1976-1982 and the Metropolitan Association of Supply Teachers, 1971-1975.