Title and statement of responsibility area
Title proper
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- Textual record
- Graphic material
- Sound recording
- Printed ephemera
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Dates of creation area
Date(s)
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2004 (Creation)
- Creator
- Hurtig, Mel
Physical description area
Physical description
212 m of textual records, 335 photographs, 161 audio-visual items, 21 posters/artwork and ephemera.
Publisher's series area
Title proper of publisher's series
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Archival description area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Publisher, Author, Politician, 1932-. Melvin Gordon Hurtig was born in Edmonton in 1932, and in 1956 opened a bookstore in Edmonton which grew into one of the largest retail book operations in Canada. He sold his stores in 1972 and concentrated on publishing Canadian books, most notably 2 editions of the highly acclaimed <em>The Canadian Encyclopedia</em> (1985 and 1988) and <em>The Junior Encyclopedia of Canada</em>(1990). He sold Hurtig Publishers to Toronto-based McClelland & Stewart in 1991. A well-known economic nationalist, Mr. Hurtig was a founding member of the Committee for an Independent Canada and in 1985 he was founding chairman of the Council of Canadians. A critic of the high degree of foreign ownership and control in Canada, he campaigned vigorously against the Free Trade Agreement with the US. His first book, <em>The Betrayal of Canada,</em> was the best-selling book in Canada in 1991. In 1992 he was the driving force behind a new political organization, the National Party, a party committed to nationalist and populist goals. Mr. Hurtig was selected the party's leader and wrote its policy statement, A New and Better Canada. Mr. Hurtig resigned as leader in 1994 and the party subsequently disintegrated. He has received much recognition for his outspoken nationalism, including numerous honorary degrees. He also received the Lester B. Pearson Man of the Year Peace Award (1988) and is an Officer of the Order of Canada. His autobiography, <em>At Twilight in the Country: Memoirs of a Canadian Nationalist </em>was published in 1996.
Custodial history
Scope and content
The Mel Hurtig fonds encompass a wide range of records, documenting the many areas of interest and pursuits Mr. Hurtig enjoyed in the professional, personal and political arenas of his life. In the first series, Hurtig Business Records, only a few files concern Hurtig’s Bookstore; most of the files relate instead to his publishing concerns. The series includes correspondence with authors and a series of files Hurtig called “Possible Future Books”, where book proposals and potential publishing projects were considered. The correspondence with authors is very interesting and the Hurtig Business records series provides the researcher with some sense of the complexity involved in the publishing world. There is extensive business correspondence files located in Series 1 and they have been arranged in date order by day, month and year. It is perhaps a misnomer to label Hurtig’s correspondence as business or personal or CIC/COC etc., because such tidy separations do not actually exist in his correspondence. All these ‘boundaries’ blend together. His letters to authors, for example, often contain information related to his CIC and COC initiatives, and the hundreds of invitations he receives for speaking engagements invite him to speak on topics encompassing his many interests and expertise. In the end, the letter-head the letters were sent on determined what series the correspondence was filed with; the letters located in this series were written on various Hurtig business logo stationery. The CIC and COC correspondence are likewise filed because of the letter-head or titles typed on the retained flimsy file copies. In more recent dates, the correspondence often consists of printed e-mails, again on numerous issues and topics, but is filed in the ‘Personal Records’ series because of when they were written in relation to Mel Hurtig’s stage of life and career. Separate finding-aids are available to the records of The Canadian Encyclopedia and The Junior Encyclopedia of Canada Mel Hurtig’s involvement with the Committee for an Independent Canada and with the Council of Canadians is well-documented in Series 2 and Series 3 of the fonds, particularly in regard to the issues both groups were involved with. Hurtig was a central figure in both organizations, and his correspondence files provide a valuable record of the day-to-day operations of these national bodies, as well as a more global view of the organizations and the public personas they presented. There are copies of board meeting documents and executive correspondence, as well as policy documentation, issue-oriented presentations, news releases and related clipping files. A major issue the COC, in particular, rallied against was the Free Trade Agreement and there is an extensive collection of research material and documents gathered for background reference and research purposes. The COC corresponded with federal politicians, well-known Canadians, and other action bodies (such as the Pro-Canada Network) in assembling their issues information library, as evidenced in the Series 3 files. Peace and disarmament issues are also extensively documented in the COC files. Series 4, consisting of Mel Hurtig’s political files, contains files related to his membership in and candidacy for the Federal Liberal Party and more extensively, his founding and leading of the National Party of Canada. The National Party records are fascinating in that they clearly document a unique event in the Canadian political landscape. In a time frame of about two years, a party was formed, ran a national election campaign, and was dissolved, with the records in this series documenting the dramatic unfolding of events. Mel Hurtig’s book writing files are retained in Series 5. There are complete drafts of the following Hurtig books: The Betrayal of Canada, At Twilight in the Country, The Vanishing Country, and Rushing to Armageddon. Chapter drafts contain editing comments, corrections and additions and deletions. There are also related clipping and publicity files that document the book signing and speaking tours post publication. Series 6 is broadly defined as personal records, and includes textual files, published material and photographs. While the files contain references to family and personal concerns, again there is the blurring of boundaries with a lot of the e-mail correspondence focusing on political and issue-oriented topics. Hurtig corresponds with well-known Canadians in campaigns designed to oppose missile defense, call attention to issues of Canadian sovereignty and affect political change. The photographs span a period of some sixty years, and also included in this series is a collection of books given to Hurtig by their authors, with Hurtig usually referenced in the book. The final series, Series 7, contains audio-visual records including video-tapes, cassette tapes, and compact discs. The subject matter of this material references all the previous series topics, and is listed in date order. The records are in excellent physical shape and provide a very complete documentation of the activities and passions of a well-known Canadian.
Notes area
Physical condition
Immediate source of acquisition
Arrangement
The fonds contains
7 series:
- Business
- Committee for an Independent Canada (CIC)
- Council of Canadians (COC)
- Politics
- Writing
- Personal Papers
- AV Recordings
Language of material
Script of material
Location of originals
Availability of other formats
Restrictions on access
Access to the Mel Hurtig Fonds is restricted until 2010. Until then all access is by written permission of Mel Hurtig.
Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication
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Finding aid written by Lynn MacPherson. Finding aid encoded by Raymond Frogner in March 2005.