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First published in 1932, The Indians of Canada remains the most comprehensive works available on Canada's Indians. Part one includes chapters on languages, economic conditions, food resources, hunting and fishing, dress and adornment, dwellings, travel and transportation, trade and commerce, social and political organization, social life, religion, folklore and traditions, and drama, music, and art. The second part of the book describes the tribes in different groupings: the migratory tribbes of the eastern woodlands, the plains tribes, tribes of the Pacific coast, of the Cordillera, and the Mackenzie and Yukon River basins, and finally the Eskimo. --Publisher's description, University of Toronto Press, 1977

It is perhaps not surprising that existing studies of British migration to Canada deal primarily with settlement on the land. The Canadian government has made strenuous efforts to encourage immigration of this sort; there is something of glamour, too, about the movement to the last frontier on the prairies of western Canada. Yet all the while immigration has been flowing in equal volume into the industrial centres of the east. While the eyes of the nation were fixed on schemes of Empire settlement, tens of thousands of Britishers were slipping almost unnoticed into Toronto, Montreal and other metropolitan areas. In 1921 there were 54,807 persons of British birth resident in Montreal; sinoe that time over 75,000 new immigrants from Britain have given the Province of Quebec (in effect, Montreal) as their destination. A movement of this size cannot but have had profound repercussions both upon the life of the city and upon the lives of the immigrants themselves. The study of these repercussions constitutes an almost unexplored field.

The aim of this book is to give a general survey of trade-union organization in Canada from the beginnings down to the present. The manner of approach is to follow as far as possible the chronological order of events, and the method is mainly descriptive. With this conception of the task I have sought to present the facts clearly and without prejudice, introducing only a limited amount of interpretation.... -- Author's preface

...It is in the hope of at arriving at an understanding of the reason for the comparative failure of the Socialist movement in Canada that I am attempting this brief outline of its origin and progress. --From introduction

By the terms of our Commission we were required: first, to consider and make suggestions for securing a permanent improvement in the relations between employers and employees; second, to recommend means for insuring that industrial conditions affecting relations between employers and employees shall be reviewed from time to time by those concerned, with a view to improving conditions in the future. 2. For the above purpose the Commission was directed: (1) to make a survey and classification of existing Canadian industries; (2) to obtain information as to the (3) character and extent of organization already existing amongst bodies of employers and employees, respectively ; to investigate available data as to the progress made by Joint Industrial Councils in Canada, Great Britain and the United States. 3. We opened the inquiry at the City of Victoria, in the Province of British Columbia, on the 26th day of April last, and completed it at the City of Ottawa on the 13th day of June instant. Between those dates we held seventy sessions in twenty-eight industrial centres, extending from Victoria, B.C., to Sydney, N.S., in the course of which we examined 486 witnesses. --Introduction

In this pioneering work, Gustavus Myers lays bare the corruption, swindling, land deals, and bribery that are at the basis of Canadian history. This is Canada's past seen through the eyes of a muckraker, and in it the heroes of other histories appear in quite a different light. This book was first published in 1914—in the United States. It has never before been published in Canada. Canadian historians have mostly ignored, suppressed, or mocked it. But history is not the preserve of apologists for big business and the political parties, and A History of Canadian Wealth is certain to be widely read and recognized at last as a classic. A landmark revisionist history of Canada, A History of Canadian Wealth remains as lively and startling as it was when first published. --Publisher's description (from 1st Canadian edition (Lorimer, 1972) with an introduction by Stanley Ryerson)

The Royal Commission Appointed to Inquire into the Immigration of Italian Labourers to Montreal and the Alleged Fraudulent Practices of Employment Agencies was called in 1904 to investigate the recent influx of Italian labourers to Montreal and their exploitation by immigration agents. There were at least 6,000 Italians in Montreal in May of 1904, many of them unemployed despite being promised immediate employment upon their arrival in Canada. Large numbers of unskilled Italian labourers came to Canada at the beginning of the twentieth century, predominantly from the economically depressed regions of southern Italy. Although the government preferred agricultural immigrants, unskilled labourers were required to meet industrial demands. Italian migrants primarily went to Montreal and Toronto, finding work on the railway and in the mines. These labourers did not intend to stay in Canada but rather work for a season and make enough money to improve their economic situation in Italy. This system of sojourning labour was facilitated by padroni, Italian labour brokers that recruited Italian workers for Canadian employers and oversaw their transport and employment upon arriving in Canada. The system was rife with corruption as many padroni used deceptive tactics in the recruitment process and inflated fees for brokerage, transportation and food supply. The commission, led by Judge John Winchester, conducted an in depth examination of the padrone system, focusing its investigation on prominent Montreal padrone Antonio Cordasco. Since 1901, the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) had engaged Italian labourers almost exclusively through Cordasco. Witnesses alleged that Italian labourers could not obtain work with the CPR until they paid Cordasco a fee for arranging their employment. Once the labourers were hired, additional charges for supplies and food were deducted from their wages and paid directly to Cordasco. The rates Cordasco charged were 60 to 150 percent above cost. Cordasco induced Italian labourers to come to Canada by taking out advertisements in Italian-Canadian newspapers circulated in Italy, promising immediate employment upon arriving in Canada. In 1904, Cordasco recruited more men than the CPR required, creating an influx of unemployed Italian labourers in Montreal. Although Cordasco was aware of the labour surplus, he continued to demand fees from newly arrived Italian migrants under the false pretense of finding them employment. In his final report, Judge Winchester recommended that the city of Montreal pass a by-law requiring immigration agents and offices to be licensed before being permitted to carry out their business. Following the conclusion of the commission, the CPR fired Cordasco as their Italian labour agent. Although the commission effectively ended Cordasco’s career as a padrone, the system as a whole remained intact. The major companies employing Italian sojourners continued to use padroni to obtain cheap Italian labour. --Summary from Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 website (citations omitted)

Annuals reports, 1901-1983

V. 1, 1900-1901, to v. 65, 1965 , 1971, and 1975