The Quinn Collection was gathered by Herbert Furlong Quinn from the 1930s to the 1970s in order to support his research.
It is principally composed of Canadian political pamphlets and newspapers covering the period from the 1930's to the beginning of the 1980s. The pamphlets present the platforms and agendas of a dozen Canadian political parties as well as several foreign parties. Political parties in Canada include: Quebec Liberal Party, Liberal Party of Canada, New Democratic Party, Labor-Progressive Party, Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, Progressive Conservative Party, Confédération des travailleurs catholiques du Canada, Union Nationale, Social Credit Party of Canada, Bloc Populaire, Canadian Student Assembly, among others. Foreign parties covered by the collection are primarily the German party Christlich Demokratische Union (CDU/ CSU), but also the US-American Socialist Labor Party and League for Industrial Democracy as well as the Republicans and Democrats during the American Presidential Campaign 1964. Furthermore, the collection includes several years of the “Bulletin” (English version), published by the government of Western Germany (Federal Republic of Germany) as well as pamphlets from the Portuguese government from the 1930s.
The collection also includes ancillary materials : First, there are articles and publications written by Herbert F. Quinn related to multiple political topics, including a manuscript of Quinn's book "The Union Nationale : Quebec Nationalism from Duplessis to Lévesque" (1979). Second, there is a selection of Canadian newspapers and newspaper clippings, covering the Canadian Federal Election Campaign of 1949 on the one hand, and the fascist movement worldwide during the 1930s on the other.
Finally, the collection includes court transcripts relating to the occupation of the Sir George Williams Computer Center in 1969, known as the Sir George Williams Affair.
The Quinn Collection contains pamphlets, brochures, statements, newsletters, addresses, policy statements, transcripts, manifestos, newspapers, and newspaper clippings. An index of the pamphlets is available.
The collection is organized in the following series:
C001/A Political Pamphlet Collection
C001/B Politics in the Media
C001/C Publications by Herbert F. Quinn
C001/D Sir George Williams Affair