Discover the origins of Daffodil Days
In 1957, a Canadian Cancer Society volunteer in Toronto by the name of Fran Shannon decided to sell daffodils to raise funds for the Canadian Cancer Society. An anonymous donor flew in 5,000 daffodils from Victoria, British Columbia.
That first year, volunteers approached restaurants and major hotels in Toronto and proposed that they purchase daffodils to offer to their clients. In doing so, the volunteers raised $1,200. Three years later, proud of these early accomplishments, they decided to expand their network by selling the daffodils themselves. This time around they raised $17,500 for the Canadian Cancer Society.
In 1961, it was Montreal’s turn to embark on the initiative. Two women, A.F.D. Campbell and G.A. Havers, the wife of the owner of the Mont-Royal hotel, along with other Canadian Cancer Society volunteers, organized the first Daffodil Day in Quebec. Among those early pioneers was Aline Biron, who continued to work on Daffodil Day until her death in 1989. Gradually, Daffodil Day spread to the four corners of the province. In 15 years, the number of cities and towns that organized Daffodil Day grew from 22 to 157, and the money raised tripled. The sale of daffodils in 1986 generated $272,000, and in the years since, ever increasing amounts have been raised.
This spectacular growth can be credited to the commitment of thousands of volunteers and the generous support of the Quebec public. In terms of steadfast support, Canadian Pacific, our main transporter, deserves special mention for shipping the daffodils free of charge since 1965. Every year, CP has unfailingly honoured its commitment by assigning three freight cars to ship the daffodils from Victoria to Montreal.
Transporting such large quantities of fresh flowers from one end of the country to the other, led to many unpleasant surprises. For instance, in 1969, volunteers in Montreal discovered that the daffodils, stored in the garages of the Molson Brewery, had been completely wilted by carbon monoxide emissions and cold air drafts. In 1972, the truck transporting the daffodils from Victoria to Calgary went up in flames—taking its load with it! In 1989, Quebec’s Daffodil Day had to be postponed until the end of April after a hailstorm destroyed the daffodil crop in Victoria.
Despite storms and downpours, Daffodil Days remains one of the Canadian Cancer Society’s great success stories. This annual fundraising campaign is now known as the Daffodils Days since it is held for four consecutive days in the month of March. The Daffodil has become the emblem of the fight against cancer and a symbol of hope for thousands of people directly or indirectly affected by cancer.