A Brief History of Canning Jars in Canada
Sep 09, 2025
A Brief History of Canning Jars in Canada
Location: Trafalgar Township Historical Society, 2431 Dundas St W, Oakville
Time: Starting at 7:00 p.m.
Before supermarkets and freezers, preserving the harvest was a matter of necessity. What was the driving force for preserving fruits and vegetables in the 19th century? Why did it take years for home canning to truly catch on in Canada?
Local historian and collector Tom Holbrook will take you back to the days when preserving food meant skill, ingenuity, and often, trial and error. Learn about the big players who shaped the early Canadian home canning industry and explore the strengths—and surprising limitations—of the equipment they used.
We’ll end the evening with a question-and-answer session. If you have any old jars tucked away in cupboards or basements, bring them along—Tom would be delighted to take a look and share what he knows.
Come for the history, stay for the stories.