# 66 ~ Toronto's Original "Canada Day" in 1867

Well, after a long hiatus of over a year, I've decided to put up another post here in my collection of anecdotal tales of Toronto's history. The patriotic inspiration for this was the fact that another Canada Day is upon us. I'm only one year overdue for posting in time for Canada's 150th, which took place last year, but hopefully any reader will find this almost as informative and entertaining for Canada's 151st. 

The title of this post, referencing "Canada Day" is of course misleading. Traditionally, July 1st had most commonly been known as "Dominion Day". This alluded to the British North America Act, which made reference to the country as a Dominion. There were suggestions to change the name of the holiday to "Canada Day" as early as the 1940s, but it wasn't officially changed until 1982. Although some traditionalist Tories and historical diehards may still refer to the day as Dominion Day, most people these days of course refer to July 1st as Canada Day.

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So, to begin, back in 1861, a few years before Confederation, Toronto had a population of 65,000. We were the most inhabited city in the Province. Only Montreal, with its population of 90,000 people, was bigger. And with Canadian Confederation, we were set to become the capital of the brand-new Province of Ontario. An article in the Globe newspaper, operated by George Brown, one of the Fathers of Confederation, laid out the festivities held in Toronto to celebrate the creation of Canada, on Monday, July 1st, 1867.

The article reported how bells were rung at St. James Cathedral at midnight, as June 30th became July 1st, to “convey the joyful news to the city that the important era had arrived”, as the newspaper put it. The article went on, “Toronto has bestirred herself to make the holiday befitting the occasion … sufficient is announced to secure that the day shall be remembered among us as an eventful one in our history.” 

The old Cathedral Church of St. James had been destroyed by fire in 1849, and the main body of the church was re-opened to the public in 1853. As the photograph of the cathedral in 1867 shows, the spire was not yet complete, and wouldn’t be completely finished until 1874. But enough of the spire had gone up to house the bells, which had arrived in Toronto in 1865, two years before Confederation.

The Cathedral Church of St. James, at the northeast corner of King and Church streets, in 1867.

The first set of bells for the Cathedral were lost in a shipwreck off Rimouski, Quebec. A new set of nine bells were imported from the United States, and made the final leg of their journey along King Street by horse-drawn carriage in 1865. When they were first rung at Christmas that year, an article in the Globe newspaper wrote how “the heart of many an old countryman was warmed again by those old familiar sounds which delighted him in years gone by in his native land.” These same bells are still used 153 years later, in 2018.

Transporting the new bells for the Cathedral Church of St. James along King Street, Toronto, 1865.

A professional bell ringer, one Mr. Rawlinson by name, was on duty at the Cathedral on July 1, 1867. The Daily Leader newspaper had a little bit more to say about the historic ringing of the bells on that day. “The new Dominion was hailed last night as the clock struck twelve by Mr. Rawlinson ringing a merry peal on the bells of St. James’ Cathedral, the effect of which was very fine, in the otherwise solemn stillness of the night. Even at that late hour large numbers of persons were brought into the streets by the chiming of the bells and thousands there remained at their open windows to enjoy the pleasures of listening to the first musical performance of the Province of Ontario. The bells had scarcely commenced chiming when the firing of small arms was heard in every direction.”

The small arms fire was thanks to a detachment of the 10th Battalion, Royal Regiment of Toronto Volunteers. They assembled outside their drill shed and hoisted the Royal Union Flag, as well as their own Regimental Colours. The Royal Union was given a 21-gun salute at about 4 o’clock in the morning, no doubt to the great delight of the neighbours. The Royal Regiment of Toronto would eventually become the Royal Regiment of Canada. 

At six o’clock in the morning, a large ox was put on a spit at the foot of Church Street. One Captain Woodhouse, who commanded a ship called Lord Nelson, was in charge of the patriotic barbecue. The animal had been purchased from a butcher named Joseph Lennox, up in Yorkville. The Globe noted that the ox would take most of the day to roast, and leftovers would be distributed amongst the city’s poor. 

The Daily Telegraph newspaper also noted that parts of the ox were given to two different charities for children. The Protestant Orphan’s Home had opened in 1854, on Sullivan Street, between Queen and Dundas streets. It struggled to accommodate the flood of immigrant children to Toronto, or those who had lost their parents to cholera and the other lethal diseases that swept through Toronto at the time.

Protestant Orphans Home, Sullivan Street, Toronto

The House of Providence stood on Power Street, south of Queen Street. Opened in 1857, it was operated by the Sisters of St. Joseph and the Roman Catholic Church. Nearly always full, the institution would eventually quadruple in size to provide for about 700 residents, including the unemployed, orphans, the elderly, immigrants and widows. Some stayed for a few days, while others were there for years. The House of Providence lasted for over a century before it was demolished in 1962 to make way for the Richmond Street exit from the Don Valley Expressway.

House of Providence, Power Street

Toronto’s church-going faithful also sought out their own edification when Canada became a country on July 1st, 1867. Some assembled at 9:30 in the morning, in the lecture room of the Mechanics Institute at Church and Adelaide streets. They were there for a meeting of the Toronto Branch of the Evangelical Alliance, and “Christian persons of all denominations” were “invited to attend at that hour to invoke the divine blessing of the new Dominion”. 

The Toronto Mechanics’ Institute had been built in 1853. Paying members could attend lectures and courses and use the library. In 1883, the institute was given financial support by city council, at a time when no other city in Canada had a completely free public library. So, the Mechanics’ Institute became the nucleus of the first public library system in the country. The building was demolished in 1949.

The Toronto Mechanic's Institute, at the northeast corner of King and Adelaide streets

Oliver Mowat was the most notable speaker at the religious rally held at the Mechanics’ Institute on July 1st, 1867. He was vice-chancellor of Evangelical Alliance, a Father of Confederation, and a rival of Sir John A. Macdonald. Mowat wanted strong provincial autonomy, where Macdonald envisioned a very centralized federal government for the country. Mowat served as Ontario’s third premier for 24 years, from 1872 until 1896. He then served as Ontario’s eight lieutenant-governor, from 1897 until 1903. 

Mowat was Ontario’s first great leader, and made the province the richest in Canada. It was under Mowat’s leadership that Ontario’s agriculture was modernized, industry was expanded, areas like education and science were cultivated, urban social problems were addressed, and electoral reforms like voting by secret ballot were introduced. If Macdonald was the “Father of Canada”, then Mowat was the “Father of Ontario”.

Sir Oliver Mowat (born July 22nd, 1820, died April 19, 1903)

But, back to Toronto during the celebrations of Canadian Confederation. They continued all day long. A military review and parade was held on public commons along Spadina Avenue, south of College Street. The afternoon saw a picnic and festival in aid of the new St. Patrick’s School House, and a church on Dummer Street. The Horticultural Society put on an evening concert and dance, with music supplied by two military bands.

The Public Commons, Spadina Avenue, south of College Street, hosted a military review and parade on July 1st, 1867.

Fireworks were set off at Queen’s Park at about 9 o’clock that night, and the park itself was illuminated by lantern light. The area was still mostly a public park at this point, with the parliament buildings still down at Front Street. Today’s legislative assembly wasn’t built on this spot until 1893, and the only building in the park was King’s College, which had been abandoned in 1859 in favour of University College.

The Daily Telegraph newspaper wrote up a good review of Toronto’s first ever July 1st fireworks display, which were set to the tunes offered by two military bands. The paper said, “The great event of the day … was the display of fireworks in the Queen’s Park during the evening. It drew together an immense crowd. The display was the finest of the kind ever witnessed in Toronto and gave universal satisfaction. Several of the pieces were very beautiful and appropriate.”

Monday, July 1st, 1867 was a public holiday across the new Dominion. Businesses were closed, and Toronto celebrated with public musical recitals, choirs, military parades, pageants and picnics, and topped it all of with night time fireworks. At the heart of it all, it doesn’t really sound too different from how we celebrate July 1st these days. 

Sure, those partygoers from 151 years ago wouldn’t recognize the Maple Leaf Flag, and they’d probably be more than a bit startled with what we can do with modern day fireworks. They’d have no idea what a “Canada Day” actually was. But I found it curious that, in spirit, anyway, a lot of our public observances are the same as they were 151 years ago now.

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However you are commemorating Canada Day this year, I hope it's a fun and relaxing one. A simple internet search will reveal a number of "Top Ten" lists of special concerts, fireworks displays, markets, food festivals and activities that are available over this long weekend. As usual, my choice is mostly for the historical, and three of the City of Toronto's historic sites are putting on special events. These are Fort York National Historic Site, Mackenzie House Museum and the Scarborough Museum.

Canada Day at Fort York National Historic Site

"In addition to flag raising and flag lowering ceremonies, the Fort York Summer Guard, dressed as members of the Canadian Regiment of Fencible Infantry (circa 1815) will perform demonstrations of musketry, artillery and fife and drum music. Children can enjoy a drill activity, music classes, and a scavenger hunt. The Fort's volunteer historic cooks will demonstrate period-specific cooking methods and recipes in the historic kitchen."

https://www.toronto.ca/explore-enjoy/history-art-culture/museums/fort-york-national-historic-site/

Celebrate Canada Day at Fort York National Historic Site

Canada Day at Scarborough Museum

"Looking for a unique and memorable Canada Day? Scarborough Museum hosts their annual celebration in Thomson Memorial Park. Demonstrations include historic blacksmithing, spinning, weaving and leather working. Don't forget to check out the Scarborough Historical Archives tent and browse through archival aerial photographs, maps, and lots of information not he history of Scarborough. The museum's annual pie eating contest is also back by popular demand. Finally, enjoy celebratory Canada Day historic treats and stroll through the vendor markets."

https://www.toronto.ca/explore-enjoy/history-art-culture/museums/scarborough-museum/

Celebrate Canada Day at the Scarborough Museum

Canada Day at Mackenzie House Museum

Celebrate Canada's birthday with a visit to Mackenzie House, the home of Toronto's first mayor! Visitors can use the 1845 press to print their own Maple Leaf postcard.

https://www.toronto.ca/explore-enjoy/history-art-culture/museums/mackenzie-house/

Celebrate Canada Day at Mackenzie House Museum

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# 51 ~ Toronto & The First World War, Part IV - Production

A soldier guards a trench at the Battle of Ypres, his bayoneted rifle at the ready.  Belligerent nations in the First World War all struggled to produce enough munitions to battle the enemy.

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This is the fourth in a series of nine posts leading up to the centenary of John McCrae's writing of In Flanders Fields, on May 3, 1915.  I've planned for articles to be posted over the next several weeks, and to culminate with actives commemorating the centennial of McCrae's poem.

Images of John McCrae or the poppy, or recitals of the poem, In Flanders Field, are usually just relegated to Remembrance Day.  We have come to associate certain images so much with November 11th, that they seem out of place during the rest of the year.  As I publish these posts, I hope that you will find enough about Toronto's history, to make the articles of interest.

John McCrae wrote his poem during the Second Battle of Ypres, which took place between April 22nd and May 25th of 1915.  The battle saw the first massed use of poison gas by German forces on the Western Front.  It was a important engagement for Canadian troops ~ for the first time, a group of "colonial" soldiers defeated a European power, on European soil.  Military experts often refer to how engagements like the Battle of St. Julien or Kitcheners' Wood helped to usher Canada into national adulthood.  

However, instead of focusing on an analysis of military activity in Europe, my series of posts will mostly follow how the war was "fought" on the Toronto home front.

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This is the fourth instalment in my posts on Toronto during the First World War.  It is called “Production”, and it discusses those sites the industrial efforts that went on in Toronto, in order to produce the armaments that were needed to fight the war.

Prior to the war, Canada had experienced an economic recession.  At first, the war worsened it, by causing layoffs, contract cancellations, and cutbacks in the already struggling railway industry.  Some factories shut down, and construction stopped on civilian projects.  Some buildings in Toronto, like our new Union Station, were halted and wouldn’t be completed until after the war.

Work on the contemporary Union Station had begun in 1914, and actually did continue through the First World War period, through to 1920.  However, the work went on very slowly, due to significant delays because of the shortage of men and material during the First World War period.  Although the current station was officially opened in August of 1927, work was not entirely finished until 1930. 

This photograph from 1929 shows the train sheds at the south of Union Station being constructed.  the terminal to the north has been completed, and the newly opened Royal York Hotel is also visible.  The completion of Union Station is just one example of how public works in Toronto and around Canada were interrupted by the war effort.

The economy was eventually stimulated by the demand for war supplies.  Military production grew and turned the economy around, from recession to rapid expansion.  Due to the combined demands of military service, industrial production, and agricultural production, unemployment virtually ceased in Canada by 1916.

Children like the pair shown in the photograph, below, from 1908, lived in one of Toronto’s poorest districts, called “The Ward”, prior to the Great War.  The Ward was located up Terauley Street (now Bay Street), and in fact, in the second photograph below, you can see Toronto’s 1899 City Hall in the background, behind the slums.  The father of the two children in the first picture may very well have gone off to be a soldier, for pay, while their mother quite possibly could have obtained work in a munitions factory, or in some other form of industrial war production. 

Children of "the Ward", Toronto 1908.  It's possible that the war improved their economic situation, if their father enlisted in the military, or their mother found factory work.

Slums of the Ward, on Terauley Street (now Bay Street).  Toronto's City Hall is visible in the background.

The military required a nearly insatiable amount of artillery shells.  Armies expended them by the millions in great barrages and siege-like battles, and no Allied economy was organized to produce artillery shells at anything near the required levels.  Canada’s Minister of Militia and Defence, Sir Sam Hughes, had established a “Shell Committee” to coordinate production, but this failed to deliver on agreed contracts.  The Shell Committee’s failure to produce led to angry recriminations between Canada and Britain, and there were widespread rumours of corruption.

Sir Sam Hughes led the so-called Shell Committee, which failed to produce an adequate supply of munitions for the war effort.  He and his committee were replaced by Joseph Flavelle and the Imperial Munitions Board, late in 1915.

Read the original 32 page booklet "War Scandals of the Borden Government", published in 1915, here.

Late in 1915, Prime Minister Borden replaced the Shell Committee with the Imperial Munitions Board – or, the IMB, for short.   This board answered solely to British authorities but was run by a Canadian, a well known Toronto business man named Joseph Flavelle.   He ran the board according to sound business practices and hired professional managers to oversee operations.  The problem of scarce labour was resolved when Flavelle’s board hired 30,000 women to work in factories and offices. 

Flavelle's Imperial Munitions Board - often abbreviated to the IMB - ushered in thousands of female employees.  This would revolutionize the conventional role of women, who had been usually relegated to the role of wife and mother.  Women were leaving their traditional place in the home and going to work in factories.

By 1917, Flavelle had overseen a great expansion in military production.  His Imperial Munitions Board oversaw dozens of companies that produced about $2-million worth of goods each day.  The Imperial Munitions Board expanded to include propellants, brass casings, and complicated fuses.  By 1917, about one third of all British shells were being manufactured in Canada. 

The IMB constructed ships and aircraft and developed airfields for a large pilot training program. By war's end, its 600 factories had completed some 103 naval vessels, 2,600 training aircraft, and 30 flying boats. When the IMB ceased operations in 1919, it was Canada's largest civilian employer, with over 289,000 employees.

Slide # 76 – Here, a Canadian pilot sits in a JN4 “Jenny” airplane in a Toronto airfield.  Today’s Royal Canadian Air Force originated as the Canadian Aviation Corps, which was an early attempt to create an air force in Canada.  Created in 1914, the unit was attached to the Canadian Expeditionary Force.  The Canadian Aviation Corps was affiliated with Britain’s Royal Flying Corps.  By the end of the First World War, the Canadian Aviation Corps had evolved into the Canadian Air Force, which eventually evolved in turn into the Royal Canadian Air Force, established in 1924.

A Curtiss JN4 "Jenny" airplane in a Toronto airfield, 1916.

 

A Curtiss JN4 "Jenny" airplane, Long Branch Airfield, Toronto, January, 1917.

 

Gassing up a Curtiss "F" Flyboat, Toronto Harbour, 1915.

With more and more men away on service, women’s work became pivotal. So-called “women’s work” was initially an extension of what women would have done at home, like knitting and sewing clothing for soldiers. Non-traditional canvassing, recruiting, clerical and factory-floor roles followed. By the end of 1916, Toronto employed 2,500 of Canada’s 4,000 female munitions workers.

Toronto women knit socks for soldiers in 1914.

A group of women assembly parts in a Toronto airplane factory in 1916.

A woman adjusts a fuse inside the Russell Motor Car Company factory.

A "Woman Worker" badge was issued to every woman who worked for the Imperial Munitions Board for at least 30 days.  Everyone would want to wear something that could show that they were "doing their bit" for the war effort.

In Toronto, the Imperial Munitions Board was able to take advantage of the city’s established manufacturing base, by taking over several existing firms.  The Russell Motor Car Company was a case in point.  Russell worked in partnership with the Eaton’s Machine Gun Battery, which was bankrolled by Sir John Eaton, the head of the department store chain. 

Russell was also one of the first Canadian companies to receive a munitions contract. After producing Canada’s first shell fuse in 1916, Russell sold off its vehicle works to focus on making munitions. By 1918, Russell had four Toronto factories in operation and proudly attested to the productivity of its large female workforce.



Sir John Eaton presented armoured cars to the Imperial Munitions Board.  They were manufactured through the Russell Motor Car Company and seen here at Toronto's Exhibition Camp in 1915.

Here we see employees posing for a photograph outside the Russell Motor Car Company, on King Street West and Duncan Street (between University Avenue and John Street) in 1917.

The IMB’s name was something of a misnomer. While it was charged with awarding ammunition contracts across the country, its industrial mandate soon broadened, and again Toronto was the beneficiary. Shipbuilding exemplified this.

Shown here, below, is a 1918 painting by Robert Gagen, entitled “Shipbuilding in Ashbridge’s Bay”.  It shows ship construction at the Polson Iron Works, near the foot of Sherbourne Street.  In the foreground is the War Taurus, and behind is either the War Hydra, or the War Timiskaming.

"Shipbuilding in Ashbridge's Bay", pained in 1918 by Robert Gagen.

In 1914, Toronto had one shipyard in operation; in 1918, it had three. The initial wartime products of the Polson Iron Works, established in 1883 at the foot of Sherbourne Street, were shells and shrapnel. Later it built trawlers for the Royal Canadian Navy; then it moved on to steel freighters commissioned by the IMB.



Shipbuilding, Polson Iron Works, 1918.

Toronto’s other two shipyards took shape thanks to the Toronto Harbour Commission. The Dominion Shipbuilding Company occupied newly made land between Spadina Avenue and Bathurst Street, and adjoined the newly created Keating Channel.  Polson, Dominion and a third company, the Toronto Shipbuilding Company, built 24 St. Lawrence Canal-size vessels between 1917 and 1920 — nearly one-third of the IMB’s ships.



Toronto's Dominion Shipbuilding Company.

Launch of the Floraba at Toronto's Dominion Shipbuilding Company.

In addition to shipbuilding, the Imperial Munitions Board had three of its seven “national factories” in Toronto. These were British Forgings Ltd., British Acetones Toronto Ltd. and Canadian Aeroplanes Ltd.

  British Forgings was formed to process waste metal from shell production and make new munitions.

While British Forgings was built from scratch, British Acetones relied on an existing plant. With Prohibition looming — meaning poor prospects for beverage alcohol — Gooderham & Worts offered its distillery to the Imperial Munitions Board for wartime purposes. Operating under its new name, the factory became the Empire’s largest producer of cordite in 1917 and 1918. This material was an essential ingredient in war-related explosives.



Toronto's Distillery District in 1917, while it served as British Acetones Toronto, Ltd.

Canadian Aeroplanes Limited was regarded as the IMB’s most successful venture. Of the 2,951 aircraft built in 1917 and 1918, most were JN-4 (“Jenny”) trainers used by the Royal Flying Corps Canada at such sites as the IMB’s aerodromes at Long Branch, Armour Heights and Leaside. Many of the rest were massive flying boats built for the US Navy.



A JN4 "Jenny" airplane at the Leaside Aerodrome, in 1917.

A JN4 "Jenny" airplane is pushed back into an aerodrome hangar in 1916.

A pilot in a JN14 "Jenny" airplane, 1918.

A Curtiss "F" flying boat, Toronto Islands, 1915.

A Curtiss Canada Bomber, 1916.

When going through the Toronto Archives online collection, I found this photograph of an aviator named Bert Acosta, preparing to take a Toronto photographer named William James, Sr., up in an airplane from the Leaside Aerodrome, in 1916.  William James, Sr., was a major contributor of photographs to the Toronto Archives, and ended up filing hundreds, if not thousands, of photographs of Toronto to the archival collection.  

William James, Sr., can be seen in the back of the airplane, with his rather bulky looking camera.  His trip over the skies of Toronto in 1916 resulted in what was said to be amongst the first "movies" filmed from an airplane in Canada.

The end of the war ended most of this economic activity. Munitions contracts were cancelled immediately. Two of the shipyards were bankrupt by 1920; the third became a dry dock. Canadian Aeroplanes and British Forgings were sold to foreign interests and closed in the early 1920s. British Acetone again became Gooderham & Worts, but struggled during the Prohibition period.

Alcohol continued to be produced there until 1990, when production was moved to Windsor, and the facility became abandoned.  It was eventually converted to a recreational complex full of art galleries, restaurants and cafes, and survives today as Toronto’s Distillery District.

At the end of the war, women returned to their traditional unpaid roles. They were not the only Torontonians to be disappointed; in the postwar slump, many “returned men” failed to find work. The economic boom of military production had become a bust.


As for Sir Joseph Flavelle, the man behind the Imperial Munitions Board, he was granted a baronetcy in 1917, in recognition of his work in supplying for the war effort.  He died in 1939, and bequeathed his mansion near Queen's Park to the University of Toronto.  It is now part of the University's Law School.

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Coming up : My next instalment of the "Toronto & The First World War" series is entitled "Dedication".  It discusses the contributions that those in Toronto and across Canada were expected to make to the war effort.  It also explores some of the propaganda art that was used to stir the patriotism of Canadians, or shame them if they weren't seen as making enough of an effort.

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