Toronto and District Trades and Labor Council

Born in England, John Buckley came to Canada in 1907 as a carpenter and worked in Toronto’s CPR and CNR shops until after World War II. He was a voracious reader and threw himself into political activity in the Independent Labor Party and later the CCF. Buckley was secretary of the Toronto District Trades and Labor Council from 1929 to 1947. In the 1940s, he also served as vice-president and secretary-treasurer of the Trades and Labor Congress of Canada.