Kensington Market in Toronto, Ontario — Central Canada (North America)

Alice and Dan Heap

Photographed by Tim Boyd, February 15, 2026

1. Alice and Dan Heap Marker

Inscription. Alice and Dan Heap were life-long community organizers, trade unionists, and socialists dedicated to providing jobs and housing for all and to achieving peace in the world. Both were active in the Student Christian Movement where Alice (1925-2012), born in Quebec, met Dan (or Don, 1925-2014), born in Manitoba. After they married in Montreal in 1950, Dan was ordained in the Anglican Church and became a worker-priest. In 1954, they moved to Toronto, where Dan worked in a cardboard box factory and was later elected a Toronto City Councillor (1972 to 1981) and then New Democratic Party Member of Parliament for Trinity-Spadina (1981 to 1993). In 1965, in support of the civil rights movement, Dan marched with Martin Luther King, Jr. from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, while his family in Toronto joined sit-ins in front of the U.S. Consulate. Alice steadfastly organized for many social justice and international solidarity causes, and participated in the co-op housing movement. The Heaps lived in this house with their seven children from 1968 to 1990. Their home was a centre for political activism where the door was always open to people needing shelter. In 1990, Alice and Dan sold this house to the Homes First Society for considerably less than its market value.

Erected 2016 by Heritage Toronto

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Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Charity & Public Work • Civil Rights • Government & Politics. A significant historical year for this entry is 1950.

Location. 43° 39.184′ N, 79° 24.171′ W. Marker is in Toronto, Ontario. It is in Kensington Market. It is at the intersection of Wales Avenue and Denison Avenue, on the left when traveling east on Wales Avenue. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 29 Wales Avenue, Toronto ON M5T 1J3, Canada. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Greater Toronto

and on the Golden Horseshoe.

It is also in Central Canada.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once a British colony,

the Viceroyalty of New France,

the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy,

and Rupert’s Land.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Kensington Market / Le Marché Kensington (about 120 meters away, measured in a direct line); Labor Lyceum (approx. 0.4 kilometers away); Wong Association of Ontario (approx. 0.4 kilometers away); Standard Theatre (approx. 0.4 kilometers away); St. Stephen’s-in-the-Fields Anglican Church/Église Anglicane de St. Stephen’s-in-the-fields (approx. half a kilometer away); Dr. Anderson Ruffin Abbott (approx. half a kilometer away); Church of Christ (1891) (approx. half a kilometer away); Croft Street (approx. half a kilometer away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Toronto.

Also see . . . Worker-priest (Wikipedia).

Worker-priest (French: Prêtre ouvrier, Prêtres au travail) was a missionary initiative by the French
Photographed by Tim Boyd, February 15, 2026

2. Alice and Dan Heap Marker (centre of photo)
Catholic Church in particular for priests to take up work in such places as car factories to experience the everyday life of the working class. A worker-priest was any priest who was "freed from parochial work by his bishop, lived only by full-time labor in a factory or other place of work, and was indistinguishable in appearance from an ordinary workingman".

Although the movement spread to many other countries such as Belgium and Italy, the French were always the most prominent. The movement was an attempt to "rediscover the masses" of industrial class workers who had become largely disaffected with the church.

(Submitted on February 16, 2026, by Tim Boyd of Hamilton, Ontario.)

Credits. This page was last revised on February 17, 2026. It was originally submitted on February 16, 2026, by Tim Boyd of Hamilton, Ontario. This page has been viewed 30 times since then. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on February 16, 2026, by Tim Boyd of Hamilton, Ontario. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.