Prior to 1867 social work in Canada meant, as it did in England and the US, relief of the poor, whose situation was generally believed to result from weakness of character. This belief was exemplified in a publication of the London Charity Organization Society: “If the head of the family makes no provision in case of his death, part of the responsibility falls on his wife, and it is doubtful whether the widow ought to be relieved of the consequences by charitable aid.”
The Associated Charities, part of a movement originating in England in 1869, was established in Canada in 1881. It differed from similar organizations of the time by stressing the importance of systematic investigation rather than the simple provision of relief. By 1912 the municipal social-service commissions were replacing the Associated Charities; simultaneously the social casework method of investigation was being popularized in Canada by followers of Mary Richmond, one of America’s social-work pioneers. In 1914 a training program for social workers was established at the UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO, followed (1918) by a similar program at MCGILL UNIVERSITY.