Archives of Ontario

Archives of Ontario We collect, preserve and share the documentary heritage of Ontario. Terms of use: ontario.ca/SocialTerms. The collection is further enhanced by the J. J. The J.

Suivez-nous en français : www.facebook.com/ArchivesON

Our customers have access to a unique and multi-faceted collection that includes records dating back to the sixteenth century and contains everything from hand-written ledgers to electronic files, hand-drawn maps, architectural drawings, photographs, films and sound recordings. Our archival collection is divided into government and private rec

ords. Talman Library and the Government of Ontario Art Collection. The majority of the records in the collections of the Archives were created by the Government of Ontario and its predecessors in the fulfillment of its legal and administrative functions. These records date from the late eighteenth century to the present day. They document political and legal decisions, the evolution of provincial administration, and the interaction between the government and its citizens. The Archives of Ontario also acquires records from the private sector. The Archives holds the records of over 2,600 private individuals, businesses, clubs and associations, labour and political organizations. The records include a large variety of collections ranging from the architectural records of the Horwood Collection, to the film archives of CFPL-TV, to the business records of the T. Eaton Company. Talman Library at the Archives of Ontario is a research and reference collection for the general public and the staff of the Archives. There are approximately 80,000 books, pamphlets, Ontario Government publications, periodicals, microfilm, microfiche and other printed and published items in the Library's collections. The Archives of Ontario also administers the Government of Ontario Art Collection, which comprises over 2,700 original works of art. The collection includes paintings, murals, works on paper, indoor and outdoor sculptures, antique furnishings and decorative objects. Reading Room Hours of Operation: www.archives.gov.on.ca/en/about/prepare.aspx

Go Canada! 🍁Today the Canadian men’s national soccer team plays Bosnia and Herzegovina in FIFA World Cup™ Match 3. We’re...
06/12/2026

Go Canada! 🍁Today the Canadian men’s national soccer team plays Bosnia and Herzegovina in FIFA World Cup™ Match 3.

We’re inspired by the triumphs of past and present Canadian soccer legends, like Craig Lorne Forrest — one of the best goalkeepers to play for the national men's soccer team. Named Canadian Player of the Year in 1994 and 2000, and MVP at the 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup, he became a renowned soccer analyst for Sportsnet and was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 2015.

Canada's Sports Hall of Fame





[Canada's goalkeeper, Craig Forrest, makes a save during the team's practice yesterday in Toronto, 1993 (The Globe and Mail subject photography, F 4695-1, box B950902)]

FIFA World Cup 2026™ kicks off today and it’s Canada’s first time as a host country 🎉.Game one is in the historic Estadi...
06/11/2026

FIFA World Cup 2026™ kicks off today and it’s Canada’s first time as a host country 🎉.

Game one is in the historic Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, where co-host Mexico will go head-to-head with South Africa. To help get you in the zone, here’s Mexico’s Ramón Ramírez — one of the sport’s best midfielders — facing off against Canada’s own Alex Bunbury, captured at the 1993 FIFA World Cup™ by the .





[Alex Bunbury and Ramón Ramírez, 1993 World Cup (The Globe and Mail subject photography, F 4695-1, box B950902)]

That’s one weird looking game of baseball ... wait, that’s soccer! Yes, Maple Leaf Stadium, a.k.a. Fleet Street Flats, u...
06/10/2026

That’s one weird looking game of baseball ... wait, that’s soccer! Yes, Maple Leaf Stadium, a.k.a. Fleet Street Flats, used to host soccer games right on the diamond. The rest of the time, The Toronto Maple Leafs baseball team played games here as part of the International League.

[Soccer Game at Maple Leafs Stadium, Toronto, 1946 (Canada Pictures Limited Sports Photography, F 4485-26-9-142, box B846399)]

06/09/2026

Happy International Archives Day!

Celebrate with short films about what we do as an archive.

Through our Unboxing the Archives series on YouTube you can step into our vaults to learn what’s inside and go through treatments — like flattening and tear repair — with our conservator. There are also research tips galore!

Here’s the link to the playlist, where you can find all five films: https://archives-on-en.visitlink.me/b5Fwe3

This photo was first published in 1990 with the caption “500,000 children play soccer in Canada, but many adults find it...
06/08/2026

This photo was first published in 1990 with the caption “500,000 children play soccer in Canada, but many adults find it boring.” One man called it “a snore” and said it had “absolutely no chance of succeeding here, none, zilch, zip.” Nevertheless, fans believed. “It’s only a matter of time,” said one fan, while another wished that “maybe, someday, everybody in the world will learn to love the same sport.”

The fans were right. Soccer has become wildly popular in Canada, the Canadian Premier League has launched, Canada’s women’s team has brought home gold, and we’re now proud to be one of 16 host cities of FIFA World Cup 2026™. The fans were right, Canada has fallen in love with the world’s most popular sport.





[Children playing soccer, 1990 (The Globe and Mail subject photography, F 2695-1, box B950902)]

It is highly likely that Darren, captured here in this Globe and Mail photograph, probably still reflects on scoring th...
06/05/2026

It is highly likely that Darren, captured here in this Globe and Mail photograph, probably still reflects on scoring the championship-winning goal during the TDSB intermediate soccer finals held at Lamport Stadium in 1981.

What sports memory are you most proud of?

[Metro Public School intermediate soccer, Toronto, 1981 (The Globe and Mail subject photography, F 4695-1, box B950902)]

June is . that one of the greatest soccer players of all time, Portugal’s Eusébio da Silva Ferreira, played for Toront...
06/04/2026

June is .
that one of the greatest soccer players of all time, Portugal’s Eusébio da Silva Ferreira, played for Toronto? It’s true, Eusébio played for the Toronto Metros-Croatia in the 1976 season, leading them to win the NASL title.

[Eusébio jubilant in Toronto after winning the NASL Championship, Toronto, 1976 (The Globe and Mail subject photography, F 4695-1, box B950902)]

Our FIFA World Cup 2026™ Toronto soccer bonanza continues this month, with a shout out to all the women players! The 202...
06/03/2026

Our FIFA World Cup 2026™ Toronto soccer bonanza continues this month, with a shout out to all the women players! The 2026 series features the inaugural FIFA Women’s Champions Cup, making this a milestone year for women in the sport.

Women’s soccer in Ontario dates back to the 1920s, despite disapproval at the time from the Dominion Football Association. By 1936, London’s The Free Press was reporting that soccer had become “an important fall sport” for women undergraduates at the University of Western Ontario. Today, the Ontario Soccer organization records approximately 200,000 women and girls enrolled in the sport, about half the total number of players in the province.







1. York University’s Kristen Bell (left) gets the better of a battle for the ball with University of Toronto player Kim Smither during their match at York U, Toronto, October 29, 1987, photo by Thomas Szlukovenyi (The Globe and Mail subject photographs, F 4695-1, box B950902)

2. Girls’ Soccer Team, 1929 Sports - Girls’ Soccer Team, 1929, location unknown (Duncan Donovan photographs, C 128-5-1-43, image I0002439)

3. Ontario Summer Games ’90 - Women's Soccer, Scarborough UTD Blazers vs. Guelph Youth, photo by Julien LeBourdais (Julien LeBourdais fonds, C 193-3-0-3778, image I0051987)

06/02/2026

Buon mese del patrimonio italiano! (Happy Italian Heritage Month!) Ontario is home to the largest Italian Canadian population in Canada?

The biggest community is in Toronto, but there are many other thriving “comunità” throughout the province, including those in Hamilton, Windsor, Leamington, Sault Ste. Marie, Thunder Bay, Guelph and Niagara Falls.

These publications from our reference library trace the fascinating histories of Italians in Ontario, from immigration and settlement to entrepreneurship and achievement.



Resources from the Archives of Ontario reference library:

1. John E. Zucchi, Italians in Toronto: Development of a National Identity, 1875-1935 (Kingston and Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 1990) (Archives of Ontario reference library, 305.8510713541 Z83)

2. John Potestio, In Search of a Better Life: Emigration to Thunder Bay from a Small Town in Calabria (Thunder Bay: Thunder Bay Historical Museum Society, 2000) (Archives of Ontario reference library, 371.312 P67)

3. Madelyn Della Valle, ed., Impronte: Italian Imprints in Windsor (Windsor: Walkerville Publishing, 2009) (Archives of Ontario reference library, 971.332 I47)

4. Walter Temelini, The Leamington Italian Community: Ethnicity and Identity in Canada (Montreal, Kingston, London, Chicago: published for the Leamington Roma Club by McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2019) (Archives of Ontario reference library, 305.851071331 T46)

5. Stefano Agnoletto, The Italians who built Toronto: Italian workers and Contractors in the City’s Housebuilding Industry, 1950-1980 (Bern: Peter Lang, 2014) (Archives of Ontario reference library, 305.8510713541 S74)

6. Caroline Di Cocco, Claudio Holzer, Nella D’Agostini and Antonia Ambrose, One by One: History of the Italian Community in Sarnia-Lambton, 1870-1990 (Sarnia: Italo-Canadian Cultural Club of Sarnia, 1991) (Archives of Ontario reference library, 971.327 053)

06/01/2026

In honour of the FIFA World Cup 2026™ Toronto, we’re celebrating local soccer history here for the next few weeks!

These are just some of the records you’ll find in our new online exhibit, The World’s Game in Ontario. Check it out!
https://archives-on-en.visitlink.me/8060oF



Address

134 Ian Macdonald Boulevard
Toronto, ON
M7A2C5

Opening Hours

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Tuesday 8:30am - 5pm
Wednesday 8:30am - 5pm
Thursday 8:30am - 5pm
Friday 8:30am - 5pm

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