Estevan Riot
Encyclopedia
The Estevan Riot, also known as the Black Tuesday Riot, was a confrontation between the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
and striking coal miners from nearby Bienfait, Saskatchewan
which took place in Estevan, Saskatchewan
on September 29, 1931. The miners had been on strike since September 7, 1931 hoping to improve their wages and working conditions. They had been organized by the Communist Party of Canada
's trade union umbrella, the Workers Unity League. Several hundred assembled in Estevan with their families to parade through the city in order to draw attention to their strike. The RCMP confronted them and attempted to block and break up the procession. Violence broke out and the police opened fire on the strikers, killing three of them. Many strikers were wounded and arrested.
The Riot was depicted in the controversial documentary Prairie Giant
: the Tommy Douglas
Story, although Douglas was not actually present.
It remains a controversial event to this day in Estevan. The three striking miners who were killed have the inscription "murdered by RCMP" on their headstone, and locals have alternately erased and restored these words up to the present day. The Saskatchewan Federation of Labour
has created a plaque memorializing the strikers.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...
and striking coal miners from nearby Bienfait, Saskatchewan
Bienfait, Saskatchewan
- See also :* List of communities in SaskatchewanThe town of Bienfait was incorporated as the Village of Bienfait on April 16, 1912 becoming a town on March 1, 1957...
which took place in Estevan, Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
on September 29, 1931. The miners had been on strike since September 7, 1931 hoping to improve their wages and working conditions. They had been organized by the Communist Party of Canada
Communist Party of Canada
The Communist Party of Canada is a communist political party in Canada. Although is it currently a minor or small political party without representation in the Federal Parliament or in provincial legislatures, historically the Party has elected representatives in Federal Parliament, Ontario...
's trade union umbrella, the Workers Unity League. Several hundred assembled in Estevan with their families to parade through the city in order to draw attention to their strike. The RCMP confronted them and attempted to block and break up the procession. Violence broke out and the police opened fire on the strikers, killing three of them. Many strikers were wounded and arrested.
The Riot was depicted in the controversial documentary Prairie Giant
Prairie Giant
Prairie Giant: The Tommy Douglas Story is a CBC Television miniseries first aired in two consecutive parts on March 12 and March 13, 2006. It dramatizes and fictionalizes the life and career of Tommy Douglas, the Canadian politician who oversaw the legislation of Canada's first public healthcare...
: the Tommy Douglas
Tommy Douglas
Thomas Clement "Tommy" Douglas, was a Scottish-born Baptist minister who became a prominent Canadian social democratic politician...
Story, although Douglas was not actually present.
It remains a controversial event to this day in Estevan. The three striking miners who were killed have the inscription "murdered by RCMP" on their headstone, and locals have alternately erased and restored these words up to the present day. The Saskatchewan Federation of Labour
Saskatchewan Federation of Labour
The Saskatchewan Federation of Labour is the Saskatchewan provincial trade union federation of the Canadian Labour Congress. It has a membership of 93,500. In 2006, the SFL celebrated its 50th anniversary.-External links:*...
has created a plaque memorializing the strikers.
External links
- Regina Leader Post Article on the Riot from the following day
- A Personal Editorial on the Riot including Photographs of Commemorative Plaques
- 1931 strike in Estevan Mercury
- A Paper discussing the Strike and Subsequent Riot
- Review of Bienfait: The Saskatchewan Miners' Struggle of '31 (Stephen L. Endicott, Toronto: University of Toronto Press 2002) by Lorne Brown, Labour/Le TravailLabour/Le TravailLabour/Le Travail is an academic journal which publishes articles on the labour movement in the Canada, sociology, labour economics, and employment relations. Although its focus is Canadian, the journal carries articles about the United States and other nations as well.Labour/Le Travail is...
52 (Fall 2003).
See also
- Regina Riot
- Great Depression in CanadaGreat Depression in CanadaCanada was hit hard by the Great Depression. Between 1929 and 1939, the gross national product dropped 40% . Unemployment reached 27% at the depth of the Depression in 1933...
- Prairie Giant: The Tommy Douglas Story
- Workers' Unity LeagueWorkers' Unity LeagueThe Workers' Unity League was created in 1929 as a labour central operated by the Communist Party of Canada on the instructions of the Communist International....
- Scandals surrounding the RCMPScandals surrounding the RCMPWhile the Royal Canadian Mounted Police has a history dating back to 1873 and has been involved in several high-profile controversies during that time, particularly in the 1970s.- Early controversies:...
- James T.M. Anderson
- Tommy DouglasTommy DouglasThomas Clement "Tommy" Douglas, was a Scottish-born Baptist minister who became a prominent Canadian social democratic politician...
- Annie BullerAnnie BullerAnnie Buller was a union organizer and manager of multiple Communist Party of Canada publications.Buller was born in the Ukraine and emigrated to Montreal with her parents in the early 1900s. She became politically active in socialist politics during World War I and studied Marxist thought at...
- History of SaskatchewanHistory of SaskatchewanHistory of Saskatchewan encompasses the study of past human events and activities of the province of Saskatchewan, the middle of Canada's three prairie provinces. Archaeological studies give some clues as to the history and lifestyles of the Palaeo-Indian, Taltheilei, and Shield Archaic Traditions...