Canada'S Sweetheart


Release Information: September 8, 1985; Toronto (Cumberland3: Festival of Festivals); Library and Archives Canada - Canadian Feature Film Database (LAC); September 8, 1985; Toronto (Cumberland3: Festival of Festivals); Library and Archives Canada - Canadian Feature Film Database (LAC); September 8, 1985; TV (CBC) 20h00; Library and Archives Canada - Canadian Feature Film Database (LAC); September 8, 1985; TV (CBC) 20h00; Library and Archives Canada - Canadian Feature Film Database (LAC); October 27, 1985; Toronto (Cumberland3: Festival of Festivals); Library and Archives Canada - Canadian Feature Film Database (LAC); October 27, 1985; Toronto (Cumberland3: Festival of Festivals); Library and Archives Canada - Canadian Feature Film Database (LAC); October 27, 1985; TV (CBC) 20h00; Library and Archives Canada - Canadian Feature Film Database (LAC); October 27, 1985; TV (CBC) 20h00; Library and Archives Canada - Canadian Feature Film Database (LAC)

Budget: Actual cost: $1,138,000

Production Details


Executive Producer: Marc Strange; Andy Thomson; Andy Thomson; Andy Thomson; Andy Thomson; Andy Thomson; Andy Thomson; Paul Wright; Paul Wright; Paul Wright; Adam Symansky; Adam Symansky; Adam Symansky

115 minutes, 1984

Harold Chamberlain Banks, a convicted felon and union strongarm, was recruited in 1949, to break up the communist-controlled unions that were blocking the country's shipping industry and to replace them with a Canadian chapter of the Seafarers' International Union (SIU). This docudrama, based on eyewitness accounts and courtroom testimony, recalls thirteen turbulent years of violence and corruption during which the careers of 6,000 seamen were destroyed by the power of one man, Banks. Canada's Sweetheart recounts the events leading up to 1962, when a small group summoned the courage to stand up to Banks and his organization. This challenge resulted in the government-appointed Norris Commission hearings, a landmark in Canadian labour history.

Source: Library and Archives Canada - Canadian Feature Film Database (LAC)

Contributed Notes

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Canada'S Sweetheart

Production Details

Contributed Notes