With Finns making up the largest non-British immigrant group in Port Arthur, a "decidedly Finnish cast" to the life of the city was reported by 1913. Although the first Finnish organization in Port Arthur was the Lutheran congregation founded in 1896, most Finns came to be associated with the Finnish Labor Temple. Built in 1910 with the backing of the Finnish local of the Socialist Party of Canada, this splendid building was a centre not only for radical politics, but for cultural, educational, and athletic activity. The Finnish socialists also had their own publishing house which issued a vast outpouring of literature including Tyokansa (working people), published first as a weekly in 1907 and then as a daily from 1912 to 1915.
The banner across the balustrade reads "STAY AWAY FROM PORCUPINE, ONT. DON'T BE A STRIKE BREAKER. THE STRIKE IS STILL ON." This refers to the Western Federation of Miners strike against the Porcupine gold mines. The sign is illustrative of a conscious effort to impart ideas of class struggle and worker solidarity. (For more information on the Porcupine strike, see Gilbert A. Stelter, "The Northern Ontario Mining Frontier, 1880-1920" Canada's Visual History, Volume 10.)
