1930 to 1939
- A resolution at the annual meeting on February 11, 1930, had CJA seek to make the crimes of those guilty of smuggling public to the press. At the time, this was contrary to the policy of the Department of Customs.
- In September 1937, the first CJA Jewellery and Gift Fair was held at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto.
- In October 1938, CJA officially assumed the responsibilities of the Jewellers Security Alliance (JSA). With JSA came more than $8000 in funds, which more than doubled CJA’s assets.
1940 to 1949
- A Retail Jewellers Vigilance Committee was formed in 1941 to investigate the problem of wholesale retailing, where wholesalers sold directly to the public.
- CJA had a member appointed to the Wartime Prices and Trade Board in 1941. This board provided regulations affecting price, set certain limits on special-order work, and restricted credit, resulting in lost business.
- On April 1, 1941, the Hurricane Campaign was initiated, aiming to raise $50,000 to purchase two Hurricane Fighter planes for the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). By November 11, 1941, CJA had raised $89,984. In spring 1942, at Rockcliffe Base near Ottawa, CJA presented RCAF approximately $110,000 (about $1.7 million in today’s dollars).
- In 1942, it was reported resurgence in membership had resulted in a 233 per cent increase over the previous four years. The association stood at 1390 members.
- The industry continued to face headwinds in 1943 as a result of the war effort. In addition to the restrictions brought about by the Wartime Prices and Trade Board, CJA members were also facing obstacles from the National Selective Service (which caused 30 factory workers and several watchmakers to be transferred into war work) and threats to business from a 25 per cent retail sales tax.
- In 1943, the forward-looking CJA established a Post-war Planning Committee to address the issue of a rehabilitation program for returning soldiers, among other considerations.
- Planning began for the Canadian Jewellers Institute (CJI) in 1944, with the purpose of providing educational facilities for the teaching of any and all crafts and trades related to the jewellery industry.
- On January 29, 1945, during his opening remarks to more than 300 members and guests at the annual CJA meeting, president C.R. Strachan observed “that soon the war clouds of Europe would lift and that we might be restored to an era of peace…and that the jewellery trades were in a healthy state and that we had travelled through the war years without serious impairment.”
- The first CJA office was opened in 1946, and a permanent secretariat was formed to address CJI and the growing work of the association.
- In 1946, CJA produced an honour roll listing more than 1300 members of the trade who were on active service during the war.
- 1946 was a particularly good year for wholesalers and manufacturers as retailers restocked their stores, no longer under any restrictions from the war effort. There were 1570 members, with 753 in Ontario alone.
- During the 1947 annual meeting, a motion was passed to create a Vigilance Committee to deal with misleading or fraudulent advertising.
- In 1947, CJA membership grew to 1604 and 78,280 pieces of mail were sent from the association’s office.
- In March 1949, the federal government removed the 25 per cent retail sales tax and replaced it with a 10 per cent manufacturers’ tax.
- CJA members were asked to place war loan displays in their windows to support the war effort.
