The Toronto Cyclists Union was formed by Dave Meslin in 2008. Meslin was inspired after traveling to several North American cities to study successful membership-funded bicycle advocacy groups elsewhere. He visited groups with upwards of 6,500 members achieving great improvements for cyclists.

In the fall of 2007 Meslin gathered together over 70 Toronto bicycle advocates and organizers from twenty plus organizations to share what he had found and to present his vision for a bike union. The meeting ended with a 97% vote in favour of moving forward with this initiative. The strength of the idea continued to become clear as the bike union facebook account attracted close to 800 members in just a few short weeks.

Over the winter, the bike union became incorporated, formed a board and a management team, held several advisory meetings across the city, organized a cycling advocacy workshop, signed up hundreds of volunteers, moved into and out of two temporary spaces (both generously donated) before finding its new home at the Centre for Social Innovation, and a team of developers used open source software to build our website and membership database.

The Toronto Cyclists Union launched on May 20, 2008, with a public press conference at the Peace Garden in Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto. Speaking guests included Mayor David Miller, City Councilor Adrian Heaps, Metrolinx Chair Rob MacIsaac, Walk & Bike for Life Executive Director Gil Peñalosa and CultureLink Executive Director Ibrahim Absiye.