Timeline of labor issues and events in Canada
Encyclopedia
This is a timeline of labour issues and events in Canada
.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
1880s
- 1883 - The Trades and Labour Congress of CanadaTrades and Labour Congress of CanadaThe Trades and Labour Congress of Canada was a Canada-wide central federation of trade unions from 1883 to 1956. It was founded at the initiative of the Toronto Trades and Labour Council and the Knights of Labor...
(TLC), a Canada-wide central federation of trade unions, is formed.
1910s
- 1912-1914 - Great Coal Strike on Vancouver Island - Joseph Mairs martyred - memorial cairn in Ladysmith, BC
- 1917 - Creation of the Canadian Labour PartyCanadian Labour PartyThe Canadian Labour Party was an early, unsuccessful attempt at creating a national labour party in Canada. Although it ran candidates in the federal elections of 1917, 1921, 1925 and 1926, it never succeeded in its goal of providing a national forum for the Canadian labour movement...
- 1918 - The shooting death of Albert "Ginger" GoodwinAlbert GoodwinAlbert "Ginger" Goodwin inspired the first General Strike in Canada on August 2, 1918 in Vancouver, British Columbia. This strike preceded the Winnipeg General Strike of 1919, an important moment in Canadian labour history....
sparks the Vancouver General Strike1918 Vancouver general strikeThe 1918 Vancouver General Strike was the first general strike in Canadian history and was held 2 August 1918. It was organized as a one-day political protest against the killing of draft evader and labour activist Albert "Ginger" Goodwin, who had called for a general strike in the event that any...
, the first general strike in Canadian history. - 1919 - Western Labour Conference in Calgary leads to creation of One Big UnionOne Big Union (Canada)The One Big Union was a Canadian syndicalist trade union active primarily in the Western part of the country. It was formally founded in Calgary on June 4, 1919 but lost most members by 1922. It finally merged into the Canadian Labour Congress in 1956.-Background:Towards the end of World War I, a...
- 1919 - Winnipeg General Strike
1920s
- 1924 - An informal coalition of progressive MPs forms the Ginger GroupGinger Group (Canada)The Ginger Group was not a formal political party in Canada, but a faction of radical Progressive and Labour Members of Parliament who advocated socialism. The group is said to have taken its name from Ginger Goodwin, a United Mine Workers organizer. Ginger was shot dead outside Cumberland, British...
in the House of Commons to fight for labour and social issues. - 1925 - One coal miner was killed and many injured during a protest as a result of a major strike at the British Empire Steel and Coal Company (BESCO) in New Waterford, Nova ScotiaNew Waterford, Nova ScotiaNew Waterford is a Canadian urban community in Nova Scotia's Cape Breton Regional Municipality.-Geography:New Waterford is located north of Sydney and northwest of Glace Bay. It is named after the city of Waterford, in Ireland. It is located near the ocean and is bordered on one side by cliffs...
. Davis DayDavis DayDavis Day, also known as Miners Memorial Day , is an annual day of remembrance observed on June 11 in coal mining communities in Nova Scotia, Canada whereby citizens recognize all miners who were killed on the job in the province.Davis Day originated in memory of William Davis, a coal miner who was...
was established in the memory of Bill DavisWilliam Davis (miner)William Davis, , was a coal miner from Cape Breton Island. He was born in Gloucestershire, England and died in New Waterford, Nova Scotia....
, the miner who was murdered by company police. The labour dispute resulted in the deployment of 2,000 soldiers during the largest peacetime deployment of the Canadian Army for an internal conflict since the Northwest Rebellion of 1885. - 1929 - Murder of Rosvall and VoutilainenRosvall and VoutilainenViljo Rosvall and Janne Voutilainen were two Finnish-Canadian unionists from Thunder Bay, Ontario and members of the Lumber Workers Industrial Union of Canada who mysteriously disappeared on November 18, 1929...
1930s
- 1931 - Estevan RiotEstevan RiotThe 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...
- 1932 - Creation of the Co-operative Commonwealth FederationCo-operative Commonwealth FederationThe Co-operative Commonwealth Federation was a Canadian political party founded in 1932 in Calgary, Alberta, by a number of socialist, farm, co-operative and labour groups, and the League for Social Reconstruction...
- 1935 - On-to-Ottawa TrekOn-to-Ottawa TrekThe On-to-Ottawa Trek was a long journey where thousands of people had unemployed men protesting the dismal conditions in federal relief camps scattered in remote areas across Western Canada. The men lived and worked in these camps at a rate of twenty cents per day before walking out on strike in...
- 1935 - Battle of Ballantyne PierBattle of Ballantyne PierBallantyne Pier was the site of a docker's strike in Vancouver, BC, in June 1935. It was a federally owned dock built by the National Harbours Board In 1923, and named for the head of the Harbours Board. There were ongoing strikes on the West Coast of North America in the Depression and it led to...
- 1938 - Bloody SundayBloody Sunday (1938)Bloody Sunday was the conclusion of a month-long "sitdowners' strike" by unemployed men at the main post office in Vancouver, British Columbia...
1940s
- 1949 - Asbestos StrikeAsbestos StrikeThe Asbestos Strike of 1949, based in and around Asbestos, Quebec, Canada, was a four-month labour dispute by the asbestos miners. It has traditionally been portrayed as a turning point in Quebec history that helped lead to the Quiet Revolution...
- 1949 - Controversial American labour unionist Hal C. BanksHal C. BanksHarold Chamberlain "Hal" Banks from Waterloo, Iowa was a controversial labour union leader in Canada...
comes to Canada to assist in a labour dispute between rival shippingShippingShipping has multiple meanings. It can be a physical process of transporting commodities and merchandise goods and cargo, by land, air, and sea. It also can describe the movement of objects by ship.Land or "ground" shipping can be by train or by truck...
unions.
1950s
- 1952 - First Peace ArchPeace ArchThe Peace Arch is a monument situated on the Canada – United States border between the communities of Blaine, Washington and Surrey, British Columbia. The Peace Arch, which stands...
concert by Paul RobesonPaul RobesonPaul Leroy Robeson was an American concert singer , recording artist, actor, athlete, scholar who was an advocate for the Civil Rights Movement in the first half of the twentieth century... - 1956 - Creation of the Canadian Labour CongressCanadian Labour CongressThe Canadian Labour Congress, or CLC is a national trade union centre, the central labour body in English Canada to which most Canadian labour unions are affiliated.- Formation :...
- 1956 - The Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers hold a national convention in Sudbury, OntarioOntarioOntario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, at which singer and activist Paul RobesonPaul RobesonPaul Leroy Robeson was an American concert singer , recording artist, actor, athlete, scholar who was an advocate for the Civil Rights Movement in the first half of the twentieth century...
gives his first concert outside the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
since being placed under a travel ban by the United States government in 1950.
1960s
- 1961 - The CCF becomes the New Democratic PartyNew Democratic PartyThe New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...
- September 10, 1961 - A Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers meeting at the Sudbury ArenaSudbury ArenaThe Sudbury Community Arena is a multi-purpose arena in the downtown core of Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. It was built in 1951.It has an ice size of 200' x 85', with a capacity of 4,600 seated, 5,100 standing and is wheelchair accessible....
, regarding the union's controversial proposal to merge with the United Steelworkers, erupts into a riotRiotA riot is a form of civil disorder characterized often by what is thought of as disorganized groups lashing out in a sudden and intense rash of violence against authority, property or people. While individuals may attempt to lead or control a riot, riots are thought to be typically chaotic and...
. - 1963 - Reesor Siding StrikeReesor Siding Strike of 1963The Reesor Siding Strike of 1963 was one of the defining labour conflicts in Canadian history, resulting in the shooting of 11 union members, three of whom were killed...
- 1967 - The international Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers merge with the United Steelworkers. Local 598 in Sudbury, OntarioOntarioOntario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
is the only Mine Mill local in the world to reject the merger, instead continuing operations as an unaffiliated union organization until 1993. - 1969 - Murray-Hill riotMurray-Hill riotThe Murray-Hill riot was the culmination of 16 hours of unrest in Montreal, Quebec during a Montreal police strike.Police were motivated to strike because of difficult working conditions caused by disarming separatist-planted bombs and patrolling frequent protests...
1970s
- 1975 - Grace Hartman is elected head of the Canadian Union of Public EmployeesCanadian Union of Public EmployeesThe Canadian Union of Public Employees is a Canadian trade union serving the public sector - although it has in recent years organized workplaces in the non-profit and para-public sector as well...
, becoming the first woman to lead a major labour union in North America. - September 15, 1978 - The Inco Strike of 1978 begins in Sudbury, OntarioOntarioOntario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
. Workers are out on strike for almost nine months, until June 7, 1979.
1980s
- 1985 - The Canadian Auto WorkersCanadian Auto WorkersThe Canadian Auto Workers is one of Canada's largest and highest profile social unions. While rooted in Ontario's large auto plants of Windsor, Brampton, Oakville, St...
become independent of their former parent union, the United Auto WorkersUnited Auto WorkersThe International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, better known as the United Auto Workers , is a labor union which represents workers in the United States and Puerto Rico, and formerly in Canada. Founded as part of the Congress of Industrial...
. This process is later documented in the film Final OfferFinal OfferFinal Offer is a Canadian film documenting the 1984 contract negotiations between the United Auto Workers Union and GM. Ultimately, it provided a historical record of the birth of the Canadian Auto Workers Union as Bob White, then head of the Canadian sector of the UAW, led his membership out of...
. - 1986 - Six-month long strike at the Gainers meatpacking plant in Edmonton
1990s
- 1992 - A bomb at the Giant MineGiant MineThe Giant Mine was a large gold mine located on the Ingraham Trail just outside ofYellowknife, Northwest Territories. Gold was discovered on the property in 1935 by Johnny Baker, but the true extent of the gold deposits were not known until 1944 when a massive gold-bearing shear zone was uncovered...
in the Northwest TerritoriesNorthwest TerritoriesThe Northwest Territories is a federal territory of Canada.Located in northern Canada, the territory borders Canada's two other territories, Yukon to the west and Nunavut to the east, and three provinces: British Columbia to the southwest, and Alberta and Saskatchewan to the south...
kills nine replacement workers. Striking mine employee Roger WarrenRoger WarrenRoger Warren is a former miner who was convicted of nine counts of second-degree murder in connection to the September 18, 1992 Giant Mine bombings at Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada...
is eventually convicted on nine counts of second-degree murder. - 1993 - Local 598 in Sudbury, OntarioOntarioOntario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, which was the only Mine Mill local in the world not to join the United Steelworkers when the two unions merged in 1967, joins the Canadian Auto WorkersCanadian Auto WorkersThe Canadian Auto Workers is one of Canada's largest and highest profile social unions. While rooted in Ontario's large auto plants of Windsor, Brampton, Oakville, St...
. - 1998 - Teenagers Jennifer Wiebe and Tessa Lowinger successfully unionize a McDonald'sMcDonald'sMcDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
franchise in Squamish, British ColumbiaSquamish, British ColumbiaSquamish is a community and a district municipality in the Canadian province of British Columbia, located at the north end of Howe Sound on the Sea to Sky Highway...
. However, the union is decertified in July 1999.
2000s
- November 22, 2000 - A McDonald'sMcDonald'sMcDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
restaurant in MontrealMontrealMontreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
is unionized. The location is closed down on August 31, 2001, with the owner claiming economic pressures due to a rent hike. This is later documented in the film Maxime, McDuff & McDoMaxime, McDuff & McDoMaxime, McDuff & McDo is a 2002 documentary film by Magnus Isacsson that shows the attempt of unionizing a McDonald's restaurant in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.They were successful, but McDonald's quickly shut down the franchise after the union won....
. - 2004 - CN Rail workers strike
- 2005 - Wal-MartWal-MartWal-Mart Stores, Inc. , branded as Walmart since 2008 and Wal-Mart before then, is an American public multinational corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. The company is the world's 18th largest public corporation, according to the Forbes Global 2000...
closes its Saguenay, QuebecSaguenay, QuebecSaguenay is a city in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region of Quebec, Canada, on the Saguenay River, about north of Quebec City....
store which became the first store of its brand in Canada being unionzied. - May 29, 2006 - Toronto Transit CommissionToronto Transit Commission-Island Ferry:The ferry service to the Toronto Islands was operated by the TTC from 1927 until 1962, when it was transferred to the Metro Parks and Culture department. Since 1998, the ferry service is run by Toronto Parks and Recreation.-Gray Coach:...
workers stage a one-day wildcat strike. - April 26, 2008 - 2008 Toronto Transit Commission strike2008 Toronto Transit Commission strikeThe 2008 TTC strike was as a legal strike action by Toronto Transit Commission unionized employees that began on April 26, 2008 at 12:01 a.m. EDT. All bus, streetcar and subway in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, was suspended leaving thousands of people stranded across the city...
- September 19, 2008 - A fire destroys the historic Sudbury Steelworkers HallSudbury Steelworkers HallThe Sudbury Steelworkers Hall was a historic labour union hall in Sudbury, Ontario, which was destroyed by a fire on September 19, 2008.-History:...
in Sudbury, OntarioOntarioOntario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
. - December 10, 2008 - OC TranspoOC TranspoOC Transpo is the urban transit service of the City of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. An integrated hub-and-spoke system of services is available consisting of: regular buses travelling on fixed routes in mixed traffic, typical of most urban transit systems; a bus rapid transit system — a high...
drivers and mechanics strike - June 22, 2009 - 2009 City of Toronto inside and outside workers strike2009 City of Toronto inside and outside workers strikeThe 2009 City of Toronto inside and outside workers strike was a legal strike action that was undertaken by the Toronto Civic Employees Union, a subsidiary of the Canadian Union of Public Employees in the city of Toronto.It involved approximately 24,000 city employees.-Background:On June 22 at...
- July 13, 2009 - Workers at Vale's operations in Sudbury embark on a yearlong strike over contract concessions.
- July 5, 2010 - A tentative resolution of the Vale strike in Sudbury is announced.