Striking workers shot and killed while marching with their families
September 29, 2018
On September 29, 1931, coal miners from nearby Bienfait gathered with their families, along with several hundred other miners and their families, to parade through the streets of Estevan in order to draw attention to their strike. The RCMP confronted them, attempting to block and break up the procession, then opened fire on the crowd. Three miners were killed and…
Industrial workers of the world (iww) declared illegal in Canada
September 24, 2018
On September 24, 1918, the Canadian government made membership in the Industrial Workers of the World illegal. The maximum sentence for membership in the IWW was five years to be served in one of 24 internment camps. War brings out the worst in people and part of the propaganda of government in war time is to play on fear; fear of the…
How a 99-day strike in 1945 changed labour relations in Canada
September 12, 2018
The 1945 strike by 11,000 workers at a Ford plant in Windsor, Ontario was a turning point in Canadian labour relations. The 99-day labour dispute spread to include another 25 plants as workers walked off the job in solidarity with Ford workers. It resulted in a 3-day, worker-lead blockade of the Ford plant to stop police from moving in to…
The first Monday in September has been an official holiday in Canada since 1894, and in the United States since 1892. But the origin of Labour Day came 20 years before that, when unions started holding parades and rallies in Toronto and Ottawa to celebrate the successful 1872 Toronto printers’ strike – the original “fight for fairness” that won major…
Canada’s unions step up pharmacare campaign this Labour Day
August 31, 2018
This Labour Day, Canada’s unions are calling on the federal government to get it right on pharmacare by creating a single-payer, universal prescription drug program for Canada. Labour Day offers Canadians an important opportunity to reflect on the legacy of unions, to take stock of our progress and to commit ourselves to working together for a fairer future. Canada’s unions…
First “gay rights” demonstration on Parliament Hill
August 28, 2018
On August 28, 1971 demonstrators presented a manifesto entitled “We Demand” that outlined a series of demands for equal rights for gays and lesbians. This was the first public march of its kind on Parliament Hill. Summer is the time for Pride events and marches in Canada. But while these celebrations are now somewhat commonplace in many cities across the…
On the afternoon of August 10, 1966, a 160-foot span of a new bridge being built over the Rideau River and Canal gave way, dropping hundreds of tons of half set concrete about 60 feet into the river valley. Nine workers were killed and another 55 injured in the disaster – Ontario’s worst workplace “accident” It’s not listed among the…
On August 5, 1940, the federal government passed the Unemployment Insurance Act, establishing a fundamental pillar of Canada’s social safety net. Years of political pressure from unions, social groups and the CCF (which became the NDP) forced the Liberal government to take action, even though the constitution had to be amended. More than 75 years later, the program has been…
Canadian postal workers go on strike for maternity leave – and win big!
June 30, 2018
On June 30, 1981, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers led its members into a strike to win improved maternity leave benefits. The strike lasted 42 days and changed everything. It won 17 weeks of paid maternity leave and set a new standard for parental benefits that all workers would soon access. In 1981 after a 42-day strike, the Canadian…
The first Bread and Roses March, an initiative of the Fédération des femmes du Québec (FFQ), began on May 26, 1995. Over the course of 10 days, more than 800 Québécoise demonstrators set off from Montréal, Longueuil and Rivière-du-Loup and converged on Québec City with nine demands of the government to combat poverty. In 1994, Françoise David took the helm…