History of the Finnish Labour Temple

The Finnish Labour Temple at 314 Bay Street in Thunder Bay, Ontario has long been the epicentre of the Finnish Community in Port Arthur, Ontario. The story of this building is inseparably linked to the activities of Finnish workers and their desire to strengthen the bonds of community and provide assistance to those in need.

The "Big Finn Hall", as it was known, was completed in 1910 largely through the combined efforts of the Finnish-American Workerss League Imatra #9and the Finnish New Attempt Temperance Society. Originally the building was intended to replace both the Temperance Societys old Hall at 217 Wilson and theTorppa, Imatra #9s hall located at 309 Dufferin Street. Together they formed the Finnish Building Company (FBC) and, through a contest, it was decided to name the Hall the "Finnish Labour Temple."

By 1910, 314 Bay Street was being referred to as the "Port Arthur Finnish Socialists Local Temple" because of its connection to first the Port Arthur Branch of the Socialist Party of Canada, and later (after the Finnish workers left in protest) the Social Democratic Party of  Canada (SDP). Between 1910 and 1912 the FBC also published the newspaper Työkansain its basement. Following the First World War, however, the SDP was outlawed by the Canadian Government and many Finnish workers joined the newly formed One Big Union (OBU) and gave their shares of the Finnish Building Company to the regional support circle (something very similar also occurred with the Fort William Finnish Hall located at 211 Robertson Street).

The following year, a split occurred at the OBU National Convention held at 314 Bay Street. As a result, a number of Finnish Socialists left and bought their own building, the adjacent 316 Bay Street where the now defunct Työkansa had been operating thus the "Little Finn Hall" was born. It was at 316 Bay St. that many Finnish and non-Finnish workers joined the Communist affiliated Local #2 of the Finnish Organization of Canada (Canadan Suomalainen Järjestö) and laid the foundation of today's Lumber and Sawmill Workers Union (formed 1935). Soon they, along with other ethnic groups, helped found the International Co-operative Trading Company (also located on Bay Street for a time), which by 1939 had nine branch stores. The "Little Finn Hall" also housed the co-op restaurant the Vigour (Tarmo).

The Finnish workers who remained at 314 Bay Street soon sought, after the collapse of the O.B.U., affiliation with the Industrial Workers of the World and realigned themselves as the Canadian Industrial Support Circle (Canadan Teollisuusunionistinen Kannatusliitto or CTKL) NOT, as is often mistaken, to the Communist Party of Canada.They were responsible for the continued operation of the Hoito Restaurant and for establishing a chain of People's Co-operative stores in Northwestern Ontario. In the 1930's and 1940's there were six stores in the chain.

Throughout most of the twentieth century, both the big and little Finn halls were the cultural centres for the Port Arthur Finnish Community. They have been home to a host of Finnish Newspapers, Theatrical productions, Concerts, Motion Pictures, Sporting events, and festivals. While much has changed during the last 60 years, the "Big Finn Hall" still functions much as it had when it was built almost a century ago. Now operated by the Finlandia Club of Port Arthur (established in 1962), the building acts as the cultural anchor of Bay Street's revitalization and serves the Finnish community of Thunder Bay much as it did almost a century ago.314 Bay Street is still home to the internationally renowned Hoito Restaurant and the Finnish-Canadian weekly newspaper Canadan Sanomat.

The Finnish Labour Temple stands today as a monument to the achievements of Finnish community in Canada. Support for the Finnish Heritage Building Fund will help keep the "Big Finn Hall" alive and continue to play an active role in the future of Bay Street.

- Michel Beaulieu, from "The Tale of Two Halls"

Further Reading and Watching:

Letters From Karelia (directed by Kelly Saxberg, National Film Board of Canada, 2004).

The Lakehead University Review IX:1 (Spring 1976). This issue entitled The Finnish Experienceis dedicated to exploring the history of Thunder Bays Finnish Community until 1914.

Thunder Bays People (Polyphony 9:2/Multicultural History Society of Ontario, 1987).

Campbell, Peter. "The cult of Spontaneity: Finnish-Canadian Bushworkers and the Industrial Workers of the World in Northern Ontario, 1919-1934," Labour/Le Travail 41 (1998): 117-146.

Ronald Harpelle, et al. editors. Karelian Exodus: Finnish Communities in North America and Soviet Karelia during the Depression Era (Beaverton: Aspasia Books Inc., 2004).

Marc Metsaranta, editor. Project Bay Street: Activities of Finnish-Canadians in Thunder Bay Before 1915 (Thunder Bay: Thunder Bay Finnish-Canadian Historical Society, 1989).

Ahti Tolvanen, Finntown, a Perspective on Urban Integration: Port Arthur Finns in the Inter-war Period, 1918-1939 (Helsinki, 1985).

Charles Wilkins, Breakfast at the Hoito and Other Adventures in the Boreal Heartland(Toronto: Natural Heritage Books, 1997).