The fonds chiefly consists of materials that Madeleine Parent gathered or created as a labour organizer and activist. The United Textile Workers of America series (B) and the Canadian independent unions series (C) make up the bulk of the fonds. Series B and C relate to Parent’s activities as Secretary-Treasurer of the Canadian District of the United Textile Workers of America (UTWA) and the Canadian Textile Council (CTC), later the Canadian Textile and Chemical Union (CTCU). Parent’s union activities closely connect with Robert Kent Rowley, with whom she co-founded the CTC. Series C also documents Parent’s work for the Confederation of Canadian Unions (CCU), including files on member unions. Documentation includes meeting minutes, collective agreements, financial documents, correspondence, labour publications, and photographs. Series B and C also detail strikes in Quebec and Ontario organized by the UTWA Canadian District, CTC, and CTCU. Some of the strikes include the Dominion Textile Company Limited strikes in 1946 and 1952, Harding Carpets Limited in 1956, Artistic Woodwork Company Limited in 1973, and the Puretex Knitting Company Limited strike in 1978.

The smallest of the series, D and E, document the legal proceedings for the 1947 charge laid against Parent for seditious conspiracy and Parent’s campaign for Montreal City Council in 1954. Series F and H document Parent’s women’s and social justice activism, predominantly from the 1970s until the early 2000s. Among the records are files regarding her work with the National Action Committee on the Status of Women (NAC) and her advocacy for immigrants’ rights and indigenous rights, such as her support for Mary Pitawanakwat, an Ojibway woman unjustly dismissed from the federal civil service. Social justice files relate to various topics, including nuclear phaseout, workplace health and safety, peace activism, and human rights violations.

Personal papers, found in series A, include family documents and photographs, personal correspondence, and Parent’s agendas, research notes, and writings, as well as documentation related to interviews. Much of this material relates to labour and social justice activism and her activities as a labour organizer. The final series, H, consists of Rowley’s personal papers compiled by Parent. Included are files of correspondence, writings, and notebooks, as well as materials created about Rowley posthumously regarding his biography and tributes to him after his death.

The fonds also documents Madeleine Parent’s social and political activism, especially in the years following her retirement from the union in 1983, through correspondence, speeches and lectures, newspaper clippings, minutes, agenda books, 1948-2009, telephone journals, 1990-2005, photographs, as well as audiotapes of interviews and speeches. There are records concerning her involvement in public campaigns concerning such issues as free trade, 1987, de-indexing of family allowances, 1985-1986, freedom of choice/abortion rights, 1986-1987, Charlottetown Accord, 1992 and the human rights case of Mary Pitawanakwat, 1994-1995. Some of these campaigns reflect her involvement in the National Action Committee on the Status of Women.

Also included are documents pertaining to her personal life including family documents, correspondence, biographical information, photographs, and diplomas.

This fonds also contains personal and labour-related writings, including articles, letters to the editor, book reviews, reports on union activities, notes on Canadian history, and correspondence of Kent Rowley, 1942-1975.

This series consists of a small number of materials collected by Madeleine Parent regarding her husband, Robert Kent Rowley. The bulk of the series is correspondence to and from Rowley and writings by Rowley. Files include letters to Rowley from Parent, letters he received while detained in an internment camp during World War II, and letters related to his union activities. Writings include editorials and articles he wrote, complemented by several notes. There are also three files of Rowley's notebooks and eleven agendas from 1966-1978. Also included is a file on Rowley’s biography, published after his death and a file of tributes to him. There are also materials related to Rowley's death in the Family papers sub-series (A2).

This series contains materials kept or created by Madeleine Parent regarding various social justice causes. The documentation covers several topics such as workplace health and safety, free trade, nuclear disarmament, peace activism, and human rights violations.
Most files are topical, however, there is also documentation related to various organizations and groups. Examples of this include files on the Three Guineas Charitable foundation, which funded several causes, but most prominently documented is a campaign for nuclear phaseout. Also included are some files on Solidarité Populaire Québec, a coalition founded in 1985 to protect Quebec social programs. These files cover various topics such as education, social housing, workers’ rights, and free trade. Moreover, there are files on human rights violations and worker movements in Haiti, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Bolivia and files on the treatment of Chilean refugees and support for the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa.

This series consists of various materials on women's activism kept or created by Madeleine Parent. A large portion of the documents relates to Parent's work with the National Action Committee on the Status of Women (NAC), of which she was a founding member. However, the series also contains files on various women's rights initiatives and groups.
Topics covered include pay equity, pro-choice legislation, poverty and family allowance, and women workers in the textile industry, nursing, and food services. Several files document the NAC's work, including correspondence, reports, and meeting documentation. Files on the Gulf War, Meech Lake Accord, Federal constitution proposals, and free trade relate to worker's rights, peace activism, and the Canadian constitution from the perspective of the NAC.
Furthermore, there are materials from various groups such as the Fédération des femmes du Québec, Le regroupement de Centres de femmes, and Feministe Action féministe, as well as files regarding the Lea Robback foundation, which promotes education and provides scholarships for women. Several files relate to Indigenous women's rights, including materials on changes to the Canadian Federal Indian Act. Also included are files on Mary Pitawanakwat, an Ojibway woman unjustly dismissed from her job after filing a sexual harassment and racial discrimination suit against her employer, the Federal Secretary of State office in Saskatchewan, in 1984. The files include correspondence and various documentation on the case, Parent's notes, and two files on a biography project. Finally, there are files of correspondence and articles on various topics, including correspondence regarding Parent's speaking engagements and documentation on events and meetings.

This series consists of six files on Madeleine Parent’s 1954 election campaign for Montreal City Council in 1954. Parent ran as an Independent Labour candidate for Councilor, Class "B", to represent St. Henri, Cote St. Paul, and Ville-Emard. She did not win the election. Materials include newspaper clippings, notes, poll results, and campaign ephemera.

This series consists of seven files that document the charges laid against Madeleine Parent and Azelus Beaucage for seditious conspiracy in 1947, as well as the court case. Materials include articles, transcripts of testimonies, and copies of the judge’s plea and judgment. Also included is Beaucage's sworn statement in 1950 regarding his connection with communism and the Labour Progressive Party.

This series consists of materials compiled or created by Madeleine Parent and documents the Canadian Textile Council (CTC), the Canadian Textile and Chemical Union (CTCU), and the Confederation of Canadian Unions (CCU). Materials speak to Canadian unionism and document the split from American-based international union the United Textile Workers of America (UTWA).
The largest sub-series (C1) documents the CTC, founded in 1952 by Parent and Robert Kent Rowley. Documentation includes correspondence, reports, collective agreements, and union publications. There are several files on the CTC's national conventions, executive board meetings, and labour organizing and disputes for some Locals. Comparatively, there are fewer materials regarding the CTCU (sub-series C2). Nonetheless, various files document the CTCU's activities, including annual conventions, disputes, agreements, and the CTCU's constitutions and by-laws.
The CCU sub-series (C3) includes materials related to its conventions, national executive board meetings, and policies and constitution. There are also several files on member unions and issues of union publications, including Canadian Union News, Confederation of Canadian Unions Bulletin, C.T.C.C. Le Travail, and the CAIMAW review.
Each of the last seven sub-series (C4 to C10) relate to a different company and document the CTC or the CTCU’s activities regarding each respective company. All seven sub-series include information on collective agreements. Sub-series C4 to C8 contain information on the CTC’s application process for certification as the bargaining agent. Some documentation also speaks to the conflict between the CTC and American-led unions. For instance, materials in the Woods Manufacturing Company, Limited sub-series (C5) document the conflict with the UTWA, and materials in the Wabasso Cotton Company Limited sub-series (C8) document the campaign between the CTC and the UTWA.
Among these sub-series, there is also documentation on various strikes. The Dominion Textile Company Limited sub-series (C4) includes materials related to the 1952 strike of workers at Quebec plants and disputes in the 1960s that occurred at the Ste-Anne's mill in Quebec. Sub-series C6 documents the 1971 strike of Texpack Limited workers. Sub-series C7 details the three-month 1956 strike of Harding Carpets Limited workers at the Brantford, Ontario plant. The smallest sub-series, C9 and C10, document the 1973 strike by workers employed at the Artistic Woodwork Company Limited, including the police response to the strike, and the 1978 yearlong strike of workers at Puretex Knitting Company, due to the installation of surveillance cameras in the factory.

The series contains materials Madeleine Parent kept or created between 1943 and 1952 while she was a union organizer and Secretary-Treasurer for the Canadian District of the United Textile Workers of America (UTWA) / Ouvriers unis des textiles d'Amérique (OUTA). Materials give some insight into the administration of the American-led union's Canadian District and some of its Quebec, Ontario, and Nova Scotia Locals. Some of the files document a specific company, strike, or dispute.
Documenting the activities of the UTWA Canadian District are meeting minutes, correspondence, reports, press releases, flyers, financial statements, legal documents, and collective agreements. Several files document the UTWA's Canadian District Annual Conference and issues of the Canadian District's publications "The Textile Worker" and the "UTW News," and other union publications. Also included is a copy of the UTWA's 1901 and 1943 constitutions and by-laws.
There are files related to the union's activities in twenty different companies. However, the company most prominently represented in this series is the Dominion Textile Company Limited and its affiliate, Montreal Cottons Limited. The Dominion Textile files include materials documenting the 1946 strike in Montreal and Valleyfield, Quebec. There is also information on the disputes which led to the 1952 Dominion Textile workers' strike.
There is overlap between this series and the Canadian independent unions series (MG 4269 C). Specifically, materials documenting the Canadian Textile Council (CTC), which Parent and Robert Kent Rowley founded in 1952. Materials documenting the 1952 Dominion Textile strike, for instance, is an example of the overlap between these two series.

The Personal papers series documents Madeleine Parent's family life, relationships she built as a labour organizer and activist, and writings. Although this series documents aspects of Parent's personal life, it includes substantial documentation on Parent's activist work and research interests.
Sub-series A1 (Education and awards) documents Parent's early and post-secondary education, awards, and honorary degrees from various Canadian institutions. The Family papers sub-series (A2) contains documents related to both her father's and mother's families and from both her marriages. Also included are materials related to the passing of her second husband, Robert Kent Rowley, keepsakes, and photographs of family and friends.
Sub-series A3 (Agenda and notes) consists of calendars and notebooks of Parent's appointments and affiliations with people, organizations, and unions, including the Canadian Textile Council and Canadian Textile and Chemical Union. Also included are notes that Parent kept on various subjects for different purposes. The notes relate to materials found in the Research, writings, and interviews sub-series (A4), which documents Parent's speeches and writings and contains research files on various topics. Also included are transcripts, notes, and agreements related to interviews Parent gave.
The final sub-series, entitled Personal correspondence (A5), contains correspondence and greeting cards, the bulk of which is from the 1990s to the early 2000s. However, there is also some correspondence from the 1950s to the 1980s.