30 years of ups and downs

The first efforts to establish a Finnish-Canadian friendship society were made in the 1930s, but it never got beyond the intention phase.

According to Matti Kaario, chairman from 1978 to 1988, the seeds for the founding of the Finnish-Canadian Society were sown during a visit by the Polytechnic Choir to Canada in the early 1950s. An agreement was then signed for a student exchange – later known as Hart House – between the Technical University of Helsinki and University of Toronto. These early developments coincided with the opening of the Canadian Embassy in 1952.

Twenty years passed before concrete steps were taken to bring about the Society.

1970s: The beginning of a long friendship

A key person here was Anja Rinkinen. For years she had listened to complaints by the many Finns and visiting Finnish-Canadians looking for help in dealing with official and less official matters. Anja decided to do something about it and started by collecting enough names to convince, among others, Canada's then ambassador Frank Hooton who promised Embassy support from the outset.

When the Society was founded in 1972, all but one of the founding members were Finns. Other key members in the very beginning were Reijo Mannerla who provided Anja with most of the founding names and Torsten Vorselman who took charge of the "Vaahtera-lehti" newsletter in 1973. The newsletter was vital in proving that the Society was active and obtained funding from the Ministry of Education.

Early on, the Society's mission was to create and strengthen cultural ties between the two countries.

In practice, this meant making the Society better known with membership drives, and by delivering information brochures and showing films about Canada. Not just in Helsinki, but also in other major cities of the country. Membership soon reached 1,500, including up to 16 corporate members. Many activities and events were held in cooperation with the Canadian Embassy.

There was an air of enthusiasm on the part of the organizers and the participants alike. The annual "Vaahterajuhla" (Maple Leaf Evening) soon became the most important membership gathering.

The first two charter flights to Canada were arranged in 1973. These flights continued for the next fifteen years, until they could not compete with the airlines' special prices any more. Also, the new generation of travellers were more likely to find their own routes rather than travel in groups.

Due to its non-profit nature, the Society could not address trade issues directly. Therefore, a separate organization, the Finnish-Canadian Business Club, was set up in 1977.

1980s: What is the role of the Society?

In the early 1980s, activities continued much in the same way: social and cultural events were held and charter flights continued.

In 1984, Ulpu Aario, the editor-in-chief of "Vaahtera-lehti", questioned the role of the Finnish-Canadian Society. Despite 1678 members, has the society evolved in 12 years beyond charter flights and fulfilled the part about "cultural ties"? She was somewhat sceptical. She concluded that, while the effort is there, it is hard to achieve loftier goals as long as the two governments do not have a cultural exchange agreement.

In 1987, the Finnish-Canadian Society expressed concern over the planned closing of the Canadian Embassy in Helsinki in a strongly worded letter to Joe Clark, the secretary of state for external affairs. Fortunately for us all, the Canadian government reversed its decision. The 15th anniversary of our society was celebrated later that year with Mr. J. R. Francis, Ambassador of Canada and Mr. Pertti Salolainen, Finland's minister of foreign trade, as guests of honour.

1988 witnessed a slight "ethnic" and geographical shift in the history of the society: Mary McDonald-Rissanen of Tampere became the first Canadian-born editor-in-chief of "Vaahtera-lehti". A membership questionnaire in 1990 revealed that, while there was general interest in cultural events, the level of participation was low partly because information on dates did not always reach readers in time. However, the newsletter received mainly favourable comments and was considered important.

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