The history of Burlington’s canning industry is rife with thrills!

One company in particular, Tip Top Canners, were owned by the Hyslop family. The Hyslop family started their legacy in the town of Greensville in the early 1900s as a basket and crate business. In 1907, their experimentation with canning became profitable and they were looking for opportunities to expand. They purchased land above Freeman Station as its location near the railroad was convenient for transporting. It was a win-win situation as local farmers were able to sell their produce to Tip Top Canners instead of doing the hard labour themselves. When Tip Top started providing deliveries, products were delivered from house to house with a bike! As the company grew, so did the demands. Tip Top started to ship nationwide and at its peak, there were 30 trucks on the road daily!

Receiving numerous accolades for the high quality of their processed food products, Tip Top was a pioneer in the food packaging industry. It was the first company in Canada to utilize the recently patented American designed “pull tab” opening. The can lids were produced under licence by Continental Can, and the product was Tip Top Brand Tomato Juice.

Various anecdotes from employees at Tip Top stated that it was a creative and inclusive environment. The area of Freeman was considered a worker’s colony, with many immigrants from Europe. They came to settle in this area due to profitable industries such as the Niagara Brand, Hercules, Tip Top Canners, and more. While the original Freeman House was a hotel and restaurant, it became a boarding house after the 1930s where people who worked at those companies housed together. Tip Top, along with the other companies in Freeman, brought people of different ethnic backgrounds to work alongside one another.
Tragedy struck in 1962 when a massive fire ravaged the Tip Top Canners facilities. The company was quickly rebuilt, but by the next year it had been sold to Stuart House International.