The Society was founded September 27, 1974 by a group of local citizens, most born in Canada, who had family and friends immigrate from Finland to Canada. The group was concerned about preserving the history of those who came to begin a new life and those born here in Canada and Thunder Bay commemorates their contributions. Thunder Bay and area had the largest population of Finnish people outside of Finland and today about 12,000 still claim Finnish descent. As a result, the Society was formed and after 30 years, continues to persevere and do interesting work. View our Constitution
How to Join
Join the Thunder Bay Finnish Canadian Historical Society, and become involved and discover your heritage!
Membership in The Society is open to everyone interested in discovering Finnish Canadian history or history in Northwestern Ontario. The Society is a non-profit organization located in Thunder Bay, Ontario.
The Society serves primarily the Thunder Bay district community and its aims and objectives are:
- To arouse and stimulate interest in the history of Finnish people primarily in Northwestern Ontario;
- To collect, classify, edit and preserve information and original documents relating to the history of Finnish people in Canada;
- To disseminate information so collected by publishing, holding meetings for discussion and presentation of papers, and by displaying collected materials.
Archives
The Society, in partnership with the Finlandia Club hosts a Finnish Canadian Museum/Archive located on the second floor of the Finnish Labour Temple. This museum is open on a periodic basis and is attended by student classes who learn about Finnish Canadian history. Approximately 3 post-secondary classes or 55 students, plus their teachers, visit each year. In addition, the museum is opened for any member of the public who request to see the museum.