Blair Rifle Range Relief Camp, Plaque
This bronze plaque is located at the corner of Mt. Seymour Parkway and Northlands Dr. in North Vancouver, BC. It was developed with the support of the Deep Cove Heritage Society.
The plaque was cast at Ornamental Bronze, a unionized foundry in Richmond which has operated since 1928. It was unveiled in 2017.
This is one of many Plaques around the Province, a project of the BC Labour Heritage Centre which aims to recognize events, actions, episodes, movements, or experiences that played a significant role in the history of the labour movement and working people in all regions of British Columbia.
Blair Rifle Range: 1927 ~ 1968
The plaque reads: In 1934, fearful of growing numbers of homeless men congregating in Vancouver, the federal government established the Blair Rifle Range Unemployed Relief Camp. Homeless men were moved to the Rifle Range and put to work expanding the site. In the spring of 1935 many stormed out and joined hundreds of others from across the country in a plea for “work and wages” that became the On-to-Ottawa Trek. Their actions hastened the creation of unemployment insurance in Canada. In later years thousands of soldiers trained here in preparation for overseas service in World War II. BC Labour Heritage Centre 2017 Union Made Deep Cove Heritage Society