Dominion Regalia

Black and white long vertical advertisement
Advertisement of The Dominion Regalia Co. Limited, Labour Day Souvenir Program (Toronto, 1907). 

In operation since 1888, Dominion Regalia is a company that has manufactured regalia, badges, buttons, banners, and sashes for fraternal organizations, and unions. While their focus has shifted toward equestrian ribbons, flags, and regalia, a visit to their website shows that they still make embroidered banners. Their label can be found on some of the banners in our collection. 

A banner made of shiny fabric, most of the background is red with a black band across the top with LOCAL 4488 and LOCAL 2771 on each side in gold, across the bottom LONDON CANADA, in the middle a logo with union initials and a standing workman, each side of the logo is a gold maple leaf
Banner, United Steelworkers of America Local 4488 and Local 2771. Mid to late 20th century, machine embroidery on rayon. Donation of Hank Wong

In the early- to mid-20th century, some unions used Dominion to make their banners and ribbons, because they were a unionized workplace under the Allied Printing Trades Council.

Print ads, like the one published in the 1907 Labour Day Program, targeted unions locals interested in having regalia such as banners and ribbons made. Such regalia proliferated after Labour Day was established as a national holiday in 1894, and the Labour Day parade became an annual celebration for workers. 

A shiny, black banner with a gold fringe along the bottom and gold tabs along the top, red text in decorative gold scrolls and a central gold circle relating to the TEXTILE WORKERS UNION, its affiliations, workers and local.
Banner, Textile Workers Union of America Local 779. Mid 20th century, rayon and synthetic fibres

Over the years, The Dominion Regalia Co. Limited operated out of a number of Toronto locations. Archival catalogues and advertisements show that the company was located at 76 York Street, the former address of the heritage-designated Frederick Crompton Buildings, as early as 1898. Later locations include King Street near Yonge in the early 1900s, 2 Elm Street, and 348 Yonge Street at Elm in 1950. Today, Dominion Regalia continues to operate from an industrial park in Markham, Ontario. 

Old black and white photos of a snowy street with a row of shops
The Dominion Regalia Co. at 348 Yonge Street (1950). Fonds 16; Toronto Transit Commission fonds, City of Toronto Archives. 

Sources

Donegan, Rosemary. 1988. “Iconography of Labour, The: An Overview of Canadian Materials”. Archivaria 27 (January), 35-56. https://archivaria.ca/index.php/archivaria/article/view/11533.

Dominion Regalia website. https://dominionregalia.com