Timeline

1905       Grand Northern Railroad built

1907       Excavation began for J.Y. Griffin meatpacking plant (Swift Canadian)

1908       The Transit hotel was established; operations began at Swift Canadian; North Edmonton Dairy distribution centre established on Fort Road

1909       Grand Trunk Pacific Railroad arrived; the St. Francis Mission was established between 1909 and 1911

1910       The Village of North Edmonton was incorporated with a population of 400-500 people; St. Michael and All Angels Church was established

1911       Burns’ slaughterhouse opened; by 1913 the packing plant was fully operational

1912       Great Northern Tanneries opened; the North Edmonton Post Office was established in the Kennedale             Building and the North Edmonton Emergency Hospital also on Fort Road; the McQueen Presbyterian Church was established

1913       The City of Edmonton annexed the Village of North Edmonton

1914       North Edmonton Public School opened

1925       St. Anthony’s Seraphic College, the major Franciscan training college in western Canada preparing men for the priesthood until the 1970s, was established

1929       Capital Packers was established

1936       Canada Packers opened

1937 Burns threatened to go on strike if management did not recognize the Edmonton Meat Packing and Purveying Union; Swift’s sudden strike left 138 hogs and 19 cattle on the killing floor

1939 Plants produced food for Britain during World War II providing consistent demand

1942 Workers voted to disband existing unions and join the Trade and Labour Congress of Canada

1945       Strike at Canada Packers; plants adjusted to postwar economy and tried to maintain production levels while dealing with farm labour shortage

1948       Swift’s ended its collective bargaining agreement with United Packinghouse Workers; half of production exported; Joe’s Grocery and North Edmonton Billiards were built on Fort Road, 1948

1949       Additions to Burns in 1949 and 1951

1951       Burns rewarded 425 employees with a turkey dinner for an accident-free year

1956       Canada Packers planned major additions and negotiated new contract with United Packinghouse Workers of America; Strike at Swift’s following Canada Packers settlement

1962       The name Fort Road became official

1964       Canada Packers operated at 60-65% capacity and had to import cattle from Montana

1966       Swift’s planned a major addition to double capacity; fire at Burns’ feed mill; Canada Packers workers prepared to strike after 6 months of unsuccessful negotiating

1967       Further facility improvement at Burns

1974       Burns planned a $5M expansion

1977       Burns had heavy losses

1978       Burns ended cattle processing in Edmonton

1980       Pocklington bought Swift’s and re-branded it Gainer’s; Burns meatpacking plant closed leaving 400 out of work

1984       Canada Packers meatpacking plant closed and was converted to a distribution centre

1986       Workers at Gainer’s went on strike for six months to protect the union contract

1988       Burns’ plant was demolished

1990       The Alberta government acquired Gainer’s through Pocklington defaulting on his loans

1994       The Alberta government sold Gainer’s to Burns

1995       Canada Packers was demolished

1996       Burns sold Gainer’s to Maple Leaf

1997       Maple Leaf closed the former Swift’s/Gainer’s plant

2002       The original Swift’s building was demolished