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Historical Company Information

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Related Guides

This page lists some of the specialized resources that are available at the Vancouver Public Library and online for locating historical company information.

Directories

VPL maintains a collection of historical trade directories, city directories, and yellow pages in the Special Collections department on Level 7 of the Central Library.

  • Trade directories contain brief company information, contact information and specialized industry information. VPL has historical trade directories for a variety of industries.
  • City directories can be used to find location information and sometimes ownership of a company. VPL maintains a collection of directories for many BC cities, including an online database for British Columbia City Directories from 1860-1955. Directories from 1956 onward can be found in Special Collections.
  • VPL holds a collection of past telephone books for some major Canadian cities.

Financial Post Cards

VPL has a collection of Historical Financial Post Cards going back 70 years. They include general company information, executive names, operations, news, history, and financials for public Canadian companies. They can be viewed by visiting the Central Library and speaking to information staff. These cards are the predecessor to the online FP Advisor database, which can be accessed below.

Business and Careers Subject Icon

In-depth corporate data on Canadian companies.

Access:
Everywhere for VPL cardholders

Annual Reports

Access to annual reports and financial information will depend if the company is public or private.

Public companies

  • Annual reports are a good place to learn about an organization's finances, operations, performance, strategies, subsidiaries, forecasts, and more. Publicly traded companies are required by law to provide annual reports. Non-profit organizations, educational institutions, and government bodies also release annual reports.
  • Start with the company's annual report.
    • VPL maintains a limited collection of print annual reports for BC and other Canadian companies. These can be searched in our catalogue (e.g. [Company name] + "annual report").
    • Additional annual reports, financial statements and other company filings can be found in:
      • SEDAR+ for Canadian public Companies 
        • You will need to go to SEDAR's legacy page for anything earlier than 2015 (functionality on this site is questionable)
      • EDGAR (US public companies from 1994)

Private companies

  • Privately-held companies are not required to release public filings which will make it difficult to find information about them.
  • Sparse information may be available using the resources listed in the tabs in this guide.

Historical Annual Reports 

  • VPL holds historical annual reports of over 100 British Columbia companies dating from 1957-1992. A full listing of these uncatalogued reports, including company name and dates, can be found in the Historical Uncatalogued Annual Reports B.C. list.
  • These historical annual reports can be viewed by visiting the Central Library and speaking to information staff. 

Print Indexes

Indexes may be helpful in finding citations to articles about a company. Listed below are a few Canadian business-focused print indexes available at the Central Library. For more suggestions, see the Other VPL Resources tab below.

Canadian Business Periodicals Index

Call Number
330X C21

Index to the Financial Post, 1907 to 1948

Call Number
332.0971X F491a

Province Newspaper Index

Call Number
071.1X P96

Other VPL Resources

Business Clipping Files

VPL has a collection of clipping files on old BC companies. Clippings include general company information and news items. Located on Level 7 of the Central Library, in the Special Collections vault - please ask for assistance.

Business Card Index

VPL has a historic collection of citations for information on companies and biographic information on business owners. The index includes mainly BC, with some other Canadian, companies. Located on Level 4 of the Central Library in the Staff-Only area - please ask for assistance.

Newspaper Collection

The Central Library maintains a large collection of historical newspapers on microfilm, located variously on Level 5 and Level 7 (Special Collections). For additional details, please see our page on Newspapers - Current and Historical.

Useful Websites

The central repository of annual reports and other disclosure documents from public companies across Canada. Records are available back to 1997.

The central repository in the United States for assorted public company filings.

Search for unclaimed dividends and companies that have been granted protection under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act. Bankruptcy and insolvency records can also be searched for a fee.

A list of resources recommended for company research.

Recommended resources for researching Canadian companies from 1867-1967.

An article about researching old stock and bond certificates.

Digital Library Resources
Culture and History Subject Icon

British Columbia city directories from 1860 to 1955. Directories include detailed historical information about British Columbian communities.

Access:
Everywhere for everyone
Newspapers and Magazines Subject Icon

Digitized newspaper archives covering The Province (1898 - present), The Vancouver Sun (1912 - present) and The Times Colonist (1884 - present).

Issues from most recent 3 months not available in this collection. See Canadian Newsstream for current issues.

Access:
Everywhere for Vancouver residents
Culture and History Subject Icon

Finding tool for historical information about BC in books, magazines and newspapers in the Vancouver Public Library collection.

Access:
Everywhere for everyone
Business and Careers Subject Icon

This resource offers unprecedented access to full-text magazines and resources – from historical info to current trends in business.

Access:
Everywhere for VPL cardholders
General Reference Subject Icon

CBCA is a Canadian-focused database that offers access to newspapers, magazines, scholarly journals and reference sources. *Also suitable for research at the elementary, high school and undergraduate levels.

Access:
Everywhere for Vancouver residents
Newspapers and Magazines Subject Icon

Explore Canada’s history through the lens of historical newspapers. Fully digitized issues of many major Canadian newspapers back to their first issues. For more recent issues of these newspapers, please see Canadian Newsstream.

Access:
Everywhere for Vancouver residents
Business and Careers Subject Icon

In-depth corporate data on Canadian companies.

Access:
Everywhere for VPL cardholders
General Reference Subject Icon

Thousands of high quality, full-text, downloadable encyclopedias, handbooks, dictionaries and travel ebooks. *Also suitable for research at the elementary, high school and undergraduate levels.

Access:
Everywhere for VPL cardholders
Newspapers and Magazines Subject Icon

Access the full image of the Globe and Mail newspaper from 1844 to 2018.

Access:
Everywhere for Vancouver residents
Newspapers and Magazines Subject Icon

Full-page image scans of the newspaper, covering Jan. 1st, 2008 to the present (with one month delay.)

Access:
Everywhere for Vancouver residents
General Reference Subject Icon

Provides access to 47 databases across all major areas of study through: journals, newspapers, market reports, news wires and case studies, many of which are full text.

Access:
Everywhere for Vancouver residents
Newspapers and Magazines Subject Icon

This collection provides full-text access to five of the most respected national and regional newspapers in the United States. Included are: Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post.

Access:
Everywhere for Vancouver residents

Recommended Titles

Cover Image for International Directory of Company Histories
Call Number
338.7409 I61d
One of the most comprehensive and detailed corporate history directories. Includes information on the development of the world's 8,500 largest and most influential companies. Available in print as well as online through Gale Ebooks (go directly to a specific history profile by adding the company name to your search for "International Directory of Company Histories").
Call Number
658.105 W62
VPL owns past editions of Who Owns Whom as far back as 1973. This title details corporate linkages worldwide.
Statistics Canada
Call Number
338.74 C2121b
A unique directory of "who owns what" in Canada. It provides up-to-date information reflecting recent corporate takeovers and other substantial changes. VPL holdings go as far back as 1967. CD-ROM version is available for use on computer station CEN4027 at the Central Library.
Financial Post (Firm)
Call Number
332.63 F49
Includes brief company summary, directors, financials and affiliates for Canadian public companies. Covers dates 1934-1948. This publication is continued by the Financial Post Survey of Industrials (332.63 F49).
Financial Post (Firm)
Call Number
332.63 F49
Details of operations, management, financial data and subsidaries of Canadian public companies. Covers 1949-1984.
Moody's Investors Service & Mergent FIS Inc
Call Number
332.6705 M81c
Moody’s published a series of large volumes annually which had summaries of financial information on publicly traded firms. Whilst USA focused, there were considerable numbers of international firms (e.g. Canadian, British etc.) also included. Start by searching Moody's Complete Corporate Index to find out which volumes of Moody’s include the company you are looking for. The index covers 1977-2002. VPL owns Moody's Bank & Finance Manual (2001-02), Moody's Industrial Manual (1930-2002) and Moody's International Manual (1981-2000).

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