In 1911, The Associated Boards of Trade of Ontario was founded in Toronto by forty-five local boards of trade as a non-partisan voice for business in Ontario.

In brief, a Chamber of Commerce is a group of business people who for mutual benefit, or to fill a perceived void in a given geographic area, join together to meet those goals through a program of action. A Chamber of Commerce or Board of Trade may be dedicated to any one or any number of specific purposes such as: economic development, tourism promotion, lobbying government or event management.

The Associated Boards of Trade of Ontario was founded specifically to lobby the Provincial Legislature to ensure that legislation and regulations passed by the Legislature fostered economic progress and supported business success.

“Made up as the organization is by representatives from local boards of trade from every section of the Province, leaving, I trust, your political tendencies behind, men with a full knowledge of the subjects under consideration, and seeking only the welfare and prosperity of the Province, as a whole, the recommendations and suggestions of such a deliberative assembly as this should have a far-reaching influence in shaping legislation and in helping forward every movement having for its object the betterment of present conditions in the Province.” W.J. Gage, February 21, 1911

Today, the Ontario Chamber of Commerce is a federation of approximately 160 community Boards of Trade and Chambers of Commerce located throughout Ontario that collectively represent 60,000 businesses of all sizes and all sectors.

It was members of The Associated Boards of Trade of Ontario and other community organizations across Canada, who, viewing the successes of the then existent Provincial Federations of Chambers, joined together in 1925 to form The Canadian Chamber of Commerce.

There continue to be active Provincial Chamber Federations in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Quebec, the Atlantic Provinces, Yukon and the Northwest Territories.

Additionally, there are a number of Regional Chambers offsetting various levels of Municipal Government, as well as some geographically specific federations such as the North Eastern and North Western Ontario Chamber of Commerce.

How is a Chamber of Commerce different from a Board of Trade?

They differ only in the name. 

In the mid 1600’s the first Chamber of Commerce to use that name was formed by an association of merchants in Marseilles, France. That organization flourished and expanded in Europe, and in 1700 the movement migrated across the Channel to England where, in keeping with the formal traditions of the day, the name was changed to Board of Trade.

Following the 1914-1918 “Great War”, Chambers of Commerce and Boards of Trade representatives from around the world met in Geneva to form the International Chamber of Commerce. Recognizing that French had been chosen by the League of Nations as the official diplomatic language of the world, many attendees representing Boards of Trade (the English oriented) agreed to change their name to Chamber of Commerce (Chambre de Commerce) in keeping with this international trend towards goodwill and cooperation. Many others did not do so, and hence, today we have active and vibrant Boards of Trade and Chambers of Commerce, with the choice of name depending on the individual interests and historic background of the individual organizations.