Through a new partnership, the Multicultural History Society of Ontario (MHSO) based at 첥Ƶ’s Keele Campus is expanding public access to its historical newspapers documenting immigrant and racialized communities.
In collaboration with Internet Archive Canada, a non-profit digital library, the MHSO is making its collection of multicultural newspapers – one of the most comprehensive in the country, with titles dating back to the 19th century – freely accessible online to scholars, educators and the public.
Housed within the offices of 첥Ƶ’s Institute for Social Research (ISR), the MHSO’s archive was previously hosted by Simon Fraser University Library but is now migrating to a centralized, open-access platform designed to ensure long-term preservation and improve discoverability.
The initiative has launched with – The New Canadian, The Canadian Jewish Review, The Canadian Jewish News and L’Ami du Peuple – which document the experiences of Japanese Canadian, Jewish Canadian and Franco Ontarian communities.
Additional titles, including Chinese Canadian Community News and The Chinese Times, are being added, with more publications from the MHSO’s extensive collection to follow.
“Ethnic and francophone newspapers were vital instruments for community members to engage with and express their views on contemporary events,” says Julia Rady, Chair and president of MHSO. “Through our collaboration with Internet Archive Canada, there is now a single platform for people to discover and research these important resources, helping to preserve their legacy for generations to come.”
“This partnership significantly expands access to rare and historically important primary sources,” says Lorne Foster, director of ISR. “For York researchers – and scholars at other institutions – it supports new and existing work in areas such as migration and diaspora studies, history, sociology and equity-focused research.”
Beyond preservation and access, the collaboration also creates opportunities for student engagement. Under its agreement with York, the MHSO provides orientation and training for students working with its archives, supports work-study and co-op placements, and connects students with community historians and organizations. York is also represented on the MHSO’s board of directors.
The development builds on York’s and the MHSO’s shared leadership in digital research and cultural preservation. The ISR helped bring the MHSO to York’s Keele Campus in 2023, contributing to a growing digital ecosystem that includes searchable archives of oral histories, newspapers, photographs and textual records documenting the experiences of ethnocultural and Indigenous communities across Ontario.
“By supporting open, digital access to these materials,” says Foster, “the initiative helps preserve and amplify the histories of underrepresented communities in Canada, while highlighting the University’s role in fostering inclusive research infrastructure through its hosting of the MHSO and its connections with community-based knowledge.”