Finnish Labour Temple
Encyclopedia
The Finnish Labour Temple (also known as the Big Finn Hall or Finlandia Club) is a Finnish-Canadian
cultural and community centre
and a local landmark located at 314 Bay Street in the Finnish quarter
in Thunder Bay
, Ontario
.
Built in 1910, the Finnish Labour Temple was at one point one of the largest workers' hall
s in Canada in addition to being the centre of Finnish cultural and political life in Northwestern Ontario
. Currently, the hall houses the historic Hoito Restaurant
, the offices of the weekly Finnish-Canadian newspaper Canadan Sanomat
, a museum, and features a large stage, dance floor, and hall as well as meeting rooms for various groups. The Finnish Labour Temple serves as one of the main locations of the Bay Street Film Festival
.
, who formed the Finnish Building Company. The lot for the hall had been purchased by socialist local in June 1907 and blueprints for the hall had already been prepared in early December 1908 by architect C.W. Wheeler. The building opened its doors to the public in March 1910, holding three consecutive days of opening ceremonies.
The inscription on the top of the building reads "Labor Omnia Vincet," meaning "labour conquers all."
in the hall and was connected to the Port Arthur
Branch of the Socialist Party of Canada
. The Temperance Society had basically become a committee of the socialist local. By December 1910, however, foreign language locals of the Socialist Party had been expelled from the party. In 1911, a new organization called the Finnish Socialist Organization of Canada had been formed, which then became affiliated to the Social Democratic Party of Canada
.
In January 1910, during the first annual meeting of the Finnish Building Company, the membership voted to rent the downstairs of the hall to the Finnish Publishing Company, who occupied the basement until the summer of 1912 when it moved to its own building next door. Of note, was the first Finnish-Canadian newspaper Työkansa (The Working People), which was published by the Finnish Publishing Company. Between 1910 and 1914, the basement of the hall also housed several co-operative restaurants and a billiards room.
On September 12–17, 1910, the Trades and Labour Congress of Canada
held its annual convention at the Finnish Labour Temple complementing the "industry, thrift and co-operative spirit" of the Finnish community in the commemorative booklet given to convention delegates.
and the regional support group
became the majority share holder of the Finnish Building Company.
In 1919, a split occurred at the One Big Union National Convention held at the Finnish Labour Temple. The split was essentially between two different factions; Finnish socialists who believed that the working class
needed a political arm, and Finnish syndicalists who felt that social change
could best be achieved through economic direct action
such as the general strike
. As a result, the Finnish socialists were ousted and bought their own building next door at 316 Bay Street or the "Little Finn Hall", and became affiliated with the Communist Finnish Organization of Canada. The Finnish workers who maintained control of the Finnish Labour Temple affiliated to the Industrial Workers of the World
after the Winnipeg General Strike and the collapse of the One Big Union.
(IWW) and the auxiliary organization, Canadan Teollisuusunionistinen Kannatusliitto (Canadian Industrial Worker Support Circle or CTKL). This was the group responsible for establishing and operating the Hoito Restaurant as well as establishing a chain of People's Co-operative stores in the region. The Finnish Labour Temple acted as the Canadian IWW administrative offices for several years and housed the Canadian news service headquarters for the Industrialisti
, the Finnish-language daily newspaper
of the IWW
. The Finnish Wobblies were also able to pay off the mortgage on the building.
The IWW competed for the hearts and minds of members with the communist-dominated unions, and held union locals well into the 1940s. With the younger generation rapidly being assimilated into dominant Canadian society, the IWW and CTKL in Northwestern Ontario became friendship and mutual aid societies
for an aging membership. In the late 1960s, following the last major wave of Finnish immigration to Canada
, a new organization called the Finlandia Club of Port Arthur became the majority share holder of the hall. The new wave of immigrants were a generation separated from their Finnish-Canadian brethren and had no connection to the social struggles of the past. In addition, the newly arriving immigrants were either a-political or conservative, associating any left-wing activity with the brutality of Stalinism
and the Finnish Winter War; this despite the fact that the Finnish Wobblies in Canada and the U.S. had actively supported and aided Finland in the war against the Soviet Union
and denounced Bolshevism, from a libertarian socialist perspective, since the Kronstadt uprising.
The Finnish Labour Temple remains a highly visible local landmark and a symbol of the city. The Temple is the last remaining Finnish cultural centre
in Canada and has been designated as a historical building.
The Hoito
Restaurant remains a very popular eatery for locals and tourists, recently, there has been a marked increase in activity in the hall as a new generation of locals have stepped in to revive and breath new life into this historic building. This includes the Bay Street Film Festival
, which features "films for the people" by screening local, national, and international films with social justice
themes; a mojakka competition; an annual Finnish-Canadian art exhibit during the summer solstice
; and an annual New Years masquerade party
hosted by the Thunder Bay Indymedia collective. This, along with more traditional dances, celebrations, and events like St. Urho's Day make the Finnish Labour Temple one of the more distinctive locations in Thunder Bay.
Finnish-Canadian
Finnish Canadians are Canadians of Finnish ancestry. According to the 2001 census number over 114,000 Canadians claim Finnish ancestry. Finns started coming to Canada in the early 1880s, and in much larger numbers in the early 20th century and well into the mid-20th century...
cultural and community centre
Community centre
Community centres or community centers or jumping recreation centers are public locations where members of a community tend to gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may sometimes be open for the whole community or for a specialised group within...
and a local landmark located at 314 Bay Street in the Finnish quarter
Ethnic enclave
An ethnic enclave is an ethnic community which retains some cultural distinction from a larger, surrounding area, it may be a neighborhood, an area or an administrative division based on ethnic groups. Sometimes an entire city may have such a feel. Usually the enclave revolves around businesses...
in Thunder Bay
Thunder Bay
-In Canada:Thunder Bay is the name of three places in the province of Ontario, Canada along Lake Superior:*Thunder Bay District, Ontario, a district in Northwestern Ontario*Thunder Bay, a city in Thunder Bay District*Thunder Bay, Unorganized, Ontario...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
.
Built in 1910, the Finnish Labour Temple was at one point one of the largest workers' hall
Hall
In architecture, a hall is fundamentally a relatively large space enclosed by a roof and walls. In the Iron Age, a mead hall was such a simple building and was the residence of a lord and his retainers...
s in Canada in addition to being the centre of Finnish cultural and political life in Northwestern Ontario
Northwestern Ontario
Northwestern Ontario is the region within the Canadian province of Ontario which lies north and west of Lake Superior, and west of Hudson Bay and James Bay. It includes most of subarctic Ontario. Its western boundary is the Canadian province of Manitoba, which disputed Ontario's claim to the...
. Currently, the hall houses the historic Hoito Restaurant
The Hoito
The Hoito Restaurant is a Finnish-Canadian restaurant in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada established in 1918 and housed in the bottom-floor of the historic Finnish Labour Temple...
, the offices of the weekly Finnish-Canadian newspaper Canadan Sanomat
Canadan Sanomat
Canadan Sanomat is a weekly Finnish language newspaper in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. It is headquartered in the Finnish Labour Temple.The paper is published by Vapaa Sana Press Ltd....
, a museum, and features a large stage, dance floor, and hall as well as meeting rooms for various groups. The Finnish Labour Temple serves as one of the main locations of the Bay Street Film Festival
Bay Street Film Festival
The Bay Street Film Festival was established in 2005 by Kelly Saxberg and Ron Harpelle as an independent film festival in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, that features local, national, and international films with the theme "films for the people." The festival is sponsored by Flash Frame, Thunder...
.
Construction
The construction of the Finnish Labour Temple was initiated by two organizations, the Finnish-American Workers' League Imatra #9 and the "Uusi Yritys" or New Attempt Temperance SocietyTemperance movement
A temperance movement is a social movement urging reduced use of alcoholic beverages. Temperance movements may criticize excessive alcohol use, promote complete abstinence , or pressure the government to enact anti-alcohol legislation or complete prohibition of alcohol.-Temperance movement by...
, who formed the Finnish Building Company. The lot for the hall had been purchased by socialist local in June 1907 and blueprints for the hall had already been prepared in early December 1908 by architect C.W. Wheeler. The building opened its doors to the public in March 1910, holding three consecutive days of opening ceremonies.
The inscription on the top of the building reads "Labor Omnia Vincet," meaning "labour conquers all."
Early Labour Temple activity, 1910–1914
Already in 1910, the hall was referred to as the "Port Arthur Finnish Socialist's Local Temple" as the socialist local had become the majority share holderShareholder
A shareholder or stockholder is an individual or institution that legally owns one or more shares of stock in a public or private corporation. Shareholders own the stock, but not the corporation itself ....
in the hall and was connected to the Port Arthur
Port Arthur, Ontario
Port Arthur was a city in Northern Ontario which amalgamated with Fort William and the townships of Neebing and McIntyre to form the city of Thunder Bay in January 1970. Port Arthur was the district seat of Thunder Bay District.- History :...
Branch of the Socialist Party of Canada
Socialist Party of Canada
There have been two different but related political parties in Canada that called themselves the Socialist Party of Canada . The current Socialist Party is an electorally inactive and unregistered federal political party in Canada...
. The Temperance Society had basically become a committee of the socialist local. By December 1910, however, foreign language locals of the Socialist Party had been expelled from the party. In 1911, a new organization called the Finnish Socialist Organization of Canada had been formed, which then became affiliated to the Social Democratic Party of Canada
Social Democratic Party of Canada
The Social Democratic Party was a social democratic political party in Canada founded in 1911 by members of the right wing of the Socialist Party of Canada. these members were dissatisfied with what they saw as that party's rigid, doctrinaire approach...
.
In January 1910, during the first annual meeting of the Finnish Building Company, the membership voted to rent the downstairs of the hall to the Finnish Publishing Company, who occupied the basement until the summer of 1912 when it moved to its own building next door. Of note, was the first Finnish-Canadian newspaper Työkansa (The Working People), which was published by the Finnish Publishing Company. Between 1910 and 1914, the basement of the hall also housed several co-operative restaurants and a billiards room.
On September 12–17, 1910, the Trades and Labour Congress of Canada
Trades and Labour Congress of Canada
The Trades and Labour Congress of Canada was a Canada-wide central federation of trade unions from 1883 to 1956. It was founded at the initiative of the Toronto Trades and Labour Council and the Knights of Labor...
held its annual convention at the Finnish Labour Temple complementing the "industry, thrift and co-operative spirit" of the Finnish community in the commemorative booklet given to convention delegates.
The First World War and the communist/syndicalist split
During the First World War, the foreign-language affiliates of the Social Democratic Party were declared illegal by the Canadian Government. This led to many difficulties as several Finnish-language newspapers were banned and leading organizers were arrested. At this time, many Finnish workers joined the rapidly emerging One Big UnionOne Big Union (Canada)
The One Big Union was a Canadian syndicalist trade union active primarily in the Western part of the country. It was formally founded in Calgary on June 4, 1919 but lost most members by 1922. It finally merged into the Canadian Labour Congress in 1956.-Background:Towards the end of World War I, a...
and the regional support group
Support group
In a support group, members provide each other with various types of help, usually nonprofessional and nonmaterial, for a particular shared, usually burdensome, characteristic...
became the majority share holder of the Finnish Building Company.
In 1919, a split occurred at the One Big Union National Convention held at the Finnish Labour Temple. The split was essentially between two different factions; Finnish socialists who believed that the working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
needed a political arm, and Finnish syndicalists who felt that social change
Social change
Social change refers to an alteration in the social order of a society. It may refer to the notion of social progress or sociocultural evolution, the philosophical idea that society moves forward by dialectical or evolutionary means. It may refer to a paradigmatic change in the socio-economic...
could best be achieved through economic direct action
Direct action
Direct action is activity undertaken by individuals, groups, or governments to achieve political, economic, or social goals outside of normal social/political channels. This can include nonviolent and violent activities which target persons, groups, or property deemed offensive to the direct action...
such as the general strike
General strike
A general strike is a strike action by a critical mass of the labour force in a city, region, or country. While a general strike can be for political goals, economic goals, or both, it tends to gain its momentum from the ideological or class sympathies of the participants...
. As a result, the Finnish socialists were ousted and bought their own building next door at 316 Bay Street or the "Little Finn Hall", and became affiliated with the Communist Finnish Organization of Canada. The Finnish workers who maintained control of the Finnish Labour Temple affiliated to the Industrial Workers of the World
Industrial Workers of the World
The Industrial Workers of the World is an international union. At its peak in 1923, the organization claimed some 100,000 members in good standing, and could marshal the support of perhaps 300,000 workers. Its membership declined dramatically after a 1924 split brought on by internal conflict...
after the Winnipeg General Strike and the collapse of the One Big Union.
The Finnish Wobblies—1919 to the 1960s
The syndicalist oriented Finns remained affiliated with the Industrial Workers of the WorldIndustrial Workers of the World
The Industrial Workers of the World is an international union. At its peak in 1923, the organization claimed some 100,000 members in good standing, and could marshal the support of perhaps 300,000 workers. Its membership declined dramatically after a 1924 split brought on by internal conflict...
(IWW) and the auxiliary organization, Canadan Teollisuusunionistinen Kannatusliitto (Canadian Industrial Worker Support Circle or CTKL). This was the group responsible for establishing and operating the Hoito Restaurant as well as establishing a chain of People's Co-operative stores in the region. The Finnish Labour Temple acted as the Canadian IWW administrative offices for several years and housed the Canadian news service headquarters for the Industrialisti
Industrialisti
Industrialisti was a Finnish-language newspaper published from Duluth, Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1914 under the same Sosialisti, the newspaper was politically linked to the Industrial Workers of the World. It was published daily, but was converted into a fortnigthly in its later...
, the Finnish-language daily newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
of the IWW
Industrial Workers of the World
The Industrial Workers of the World is an international union. At its peak in 1923, the organization claimed some 100,000 members in good standing, and could marshal the support of perhaps 300,000 workers. Its membership declined dramatically after a 1924 split brought on by internal conflict...
. The Finnish Wobblies were also able to pay off the mortgage on the building.
The IWW competed for the hearts and minds of members with the communist-dominated unions, and held union locals well into the 1940s. With the younger generation rapidly being assimilated into dominant Canadian society, the IWW and CTKL in Northwestern Ontario became friendship and mutual aid societies
Benefit society
A benefit society or mutual aid society is an organization or voluntary association formed to provide mutual aid, benefit or insurance for relief from sundry difficulties...
for an aging membership. In the late 1960s, following the last major wave of Finnish immigration to Canada
Immigration to Canada
Immigration to Canada is the process by which people migrate to Canada to reside permanently in the country. The majority of these individuals become Canadian citizens. After 1947, domestic immigration law and policy went through major changes, most notably with the Immigration Act, 1976, and the...
, a new organization called the Finlandia Club of Port Arthur became the majority share holder of the hall. The new wave of immigrants were a generation separated from their Finnish-Canadian brethren and had no connection to the social struggles of the past. In addition, the newly arriving immigrants were either a-political or conservative, associating any left-wing activity with the brutality of Stalinism
Stalinism
Stalinism refers to the ideology that Joseph Stalin conceived and implemented in the Soviet Union, and is generally considered a branch of Marxist–Leninist ideology but considered by some historians to be a significant deviation from this philosophy...
and the Finnish Winter War; this despite the fact that the Finnish Wobblies in Canada and the U.S. had actively supported and aided Finland in the war against the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and denounced Bolshevism, from a libertarian socialist perspective, since the Kronstadt uprising.
The Finnish Labour Temple today
Cultural center
A cultural center or cultural centre is an organization, building or complex that promotes culture and arts. Cultural centers can be neighborhood community arts organizations, private facilities, government-sponsored, or activist-run...
in Canada and has been designated as a historical building.
The Hoito
The Hoito
The Hoito Restaurant is a Finnish-Canadian restaurant in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada established in 1918 and housed in the bottom-floor of the historic Finnish Labour Temple...
Restaurant remains a very popular eatery for locals and tourists, recently, there has been a marked increase in activity in the hall as a new generation of locals have stepped in to revive and breath new life into this historic building. This includes the Bay Street Film Festival
Bay Street Film Festival
The Bay Street Film Festival was established in 2005 by Kelly Saxberg and Ron Harpelle as an independent film festival in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, that features local, national, and international films with the theme "films for the people." The festival is sponsored by Flash Frame, Thunder...
, which features "films for the people" by screening local, national, and international films with social justice
Social justice
Social justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. The term and modern concept of "social justice" was coined by...
themes; a mojakka competition; an annual Finnish-Canadian art exhibit during the summer solstice
Midsummer
Midsummer may simply refer to the period of time centered upon the summer solstice, but more often refers to specific European celebrations that accompany the actual solstice, or that take place on a day between June 21 and June 24, and the preceding evening. The exact dates vary between different...
; and an annual New Years masquerade party
Masquerade ball
A masquerade ball is an event which the participants attend in costume wearing a mask. - History :...
hosted by the Thunder Bay Indymedia collective. This, along with more traditional dances, celebrations, and events like St. Urho's Day make the Finnish Labour Temple one of the more distinctive locations in Thunder Bay.
See also
- Co-operatives
- Finnish history
- libertarian socialismLibertarian socialismLibertarian socialism is a group of political philosophies that promote a non-hierarchical, non-bureaucratic, stateless society without private property in the means of production...
- Ukrainian Labour TempleUkrainian Labour TempleThe Ukrainian Labour Temple is a hall and cultural centre in Winnipeg's North End run by the Association of United Ukrainian Canadians. The Labour temple is one of the few left in a once large network of such halls and is one of the largest and oldest of its kind...
, Winnipeg - San Francisco Labor TempleRedstone BuildingThe Redstone Building, also known as the Redstone Labor Temple, was formerly called "The San Francisco Labor Temple" was constructed and operated by the San Francisco Labor Council Hall Associates. Initial planning started in 1910, with most construction work done during 1914...
- 411 Seniors Centre411 Seniors CentreThe 411 Seniors Centre is a registered society, located at 411 Dunsmuir Street, in downtown Vancouver, British Columbia. It specializes in programs for moderate to low income seniors in the Vancouver area and has an active membership of more than 1,500 persons.- History :411 Seniors has since 2006...
- formerly Vancouver's Labor Temple, where events in the 1918 Vancouver general strike1918 Vancouver general strikeThe 1918 Vancouver General Strike was the first general strike in Canadian history and was held 2 August 1918. It was organized as a one-day political protest against the killing of draft evader and labour activist Albert "Ginger" Goodwin, who had called for a general strike in the event that any...
took place