Accession consists of operational files created and/or maintained by the headquarters of the Department of Industry, Trade and Commerce (ITC), and its predecessor institutions the Department of Industry and the Department of Trade and Commerce. Records touch upon virtually all major operational program areas of ITC.
Boxes 1-28 consist of records from the Grains Group and include agendas, minutes, briefings, speeches and press releases created in support of Ministerial decision making and activities. In addition to its advisory role to the Minister, it also served as a liaison to the Canadian Wheat Board.
On the subject of international trade, records originate in the following areas: Office of General Relations (boxes 29-55), International Bureau (boxes 59-98), and the Export-Imports Permits Division of the Office of Special Import Policy (boxes 115-119).
Records documenting economic development programs department-wide are best represented in the following areas: Office of Industrial Policy (boxes 99-114) which served a planning and policy development role, and the Program Office (boxes 136-138) which acted as secretariat for many of the bodies overseeing ITC programs. Serving similar roles were the Office of Science and Technology (boxes 186-204) and the National Design Council (boxes 205-217).
Industry Sector Branches (ISBs) of the Industry and Commerce Development Sector include: Aerospace, Marine and Rail (boxes 139-140), Textile and Consumer Products (boxes 141-144), Chemicals (box 145), Electrical and Electronics (boxes 146-150), Resource Industries and Construction (boxes 151-157), Machinery (boxes 158-159), Mechanical Transport (box 160), Agricultural, Fisheries, and Food Products (boxes 161-169), Wood Products (boxes 170-173), and Transportation Industries (boxes 174-179).
Export development activities are best represented through the following areas: Grains Marketing Office (boxes 120-135), International Financing (boxes 180-181); Regional Bureau (boxes 182-185), Fairs and Missions (boxes 218-249), Capital Projects (box 250), Trade Commissioner Service (251-253), and Export Programs and Service (267-268).
The accession also includes records from the Office of the Small Business Coordinator (boxes 269-270) and the Office of Tourism (boxes 271-320), Personnel Services (boxes 321-334); and Professional and Administrative Services (box 335).
In addition, this accession consists of miscellaneous legacy records from the Department of Industry and the Department of Trade and Commerce, on topics such as: Committees, Ship Subsidies, Resources and Development, and the Metric Conversion (boxes 336-359).