PROUD HISTORY
Commissionaires, an organization with a proud history.
This fascinating book covers the entire history of Commissionaires from 1925 to 1998. Available in English or French for $10.00. To purchase contact National Office or email national@commissionaires.ca.
History
A long and proud history of service.
Commissionaires UK 1859-1865
Captain Edward Walter, a retired officer of the Crimean War, founded The Corps of Commissionaires in England in 1859 to help veterans make the difficult transition back to civilian life and employment.
In an effort to find jobs for these veterans, he convinced friends and acquaintances that the exemplary discipline, loyalty and dedication to service that veterans possessed could be put to excellent use in business. He succeeded in finding jobs for seven veterans and thereby launched the Corps of Commissionaires.
March 18, 1928
While Canada's Governor General proposed a Corps be formed in Canada after World War I, it wasn't until 1925, that Commissionaires was established with the opening of offices in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver.
By 1950, with the opening of the St. John's Newfoundland division, Commissionaires was offering services from sea to sea.
And, by 1982, Commissionaires exceeded 10,000 employees, virtually doubling the strength of its British parent.
May, 1937
Today, Commissionaires employs over 20,000 employees with offices operating in all ten provinces and three territories.
In the early days of our organization, we primarily offered security services. However, with the advent of modern technology and more specialized, highly skilled staff, we are now offering a much broader range of services to more clients across Canada.
Commissionaires is not an agency of the federal or provincial governments. We are a private, self-supporting, not-for-profit organization, continuing a proud tradition that started more than a century and a half ago. By operating in this manner, we are able to fulfill our original mandate of providing fair and meaningful work to ex-military personnel while providing our clients with quality service at competitive rates.