The Winnipeg General Strike of 1919 was one of the most famous and influential strikes in Canadian history. For six weeks, May 15 to June 26, more than 30,000 strikers brought economic activity to a standstill in Winnipeg, Manitoba, which at the time was Canada's third largest city. In the short term, the strike ended in arrests, bloodshed and defeat, but in the long run it contributed to the development of a stronger labour movement and the tradition of social democratic politics in Canada.
Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous municipality in Northern Ontario; its population is 108,843 according to the 2021 Canadian Census. Located on Lake Superior, the census metropolitan area of Thunder Bay has a population of 123,258 and consists of the city of Thunder Bay, the municipalities of Oliver Paipoonge and Neebing, the townships of Shuniah, Conmee, O'Connor, and Gillies, and the Fort William First Nation.
The Socialist Party of Canada (SPC) was a political party that existed from 1904 to 1925, led by E. T. Kingsley. It published the newspaper, Western Clarion.
Bora Laskin was a Canadian jurist who served as the 14th chief justice of Canada from 1973 to 1984. Laskin was appointed a puisne justice of the Supreme Court in 1970, and served on the Ontario Court of Appeal from 1965 to 1970. Before he was named to the bench, Laskin worked as a lawyer and in academia.
The Hoito Restaurant is a Finnish-Canadian restaurant in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada established in 1918 and housed in the bottom floor of the historic Finnish Labour Temple. The Hoito operated continuously on 314 Bay Street, in the historic Bay & Algoma neighbourhood, for more than a century until closing due to the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. It was one of the oldest co-operatively owned and operated restaurants in Canada. It had been anticipated that the restaurant would reopen in early summer 2022. However, during the early evening hours of December 22 2021, amid on-going renovations, smoke could be seen billowing from the rooftop, and The Hoito restaurant suffered extensive damage when a massive fire burned through the Finnish Labour Temple building above. The building is now gone, with new construction underway.
Albert "Ginger" Goodwin, nicknamed Ginger for his bright red hair, was a migrant coal miner who advocated for workers' rights and promoted the cause of unions in British Columbia, Canada. Angered by the working conditions in coal mines, Goodwin sought to increase wages and improve working conditions, and fought companies that disregarded workers' rights. He participated in and led multiple strikes, and served as a delegate for the British Columbia Federation of Labour and as an organizer for the Socialist Party of Canada. In the years following his increased activism and involvement with labour unions, Goodwin fell under scrutiny for his opposition to military conscription during World War I. He was killed by a police officer in 1918. There is debate on whether Goodwin was a victim of murder or if his death was the result of the officer's self-defence. His death sparked a one-day general strike in Vancouver on August 2, 1918, which was the first general strike ever held in Canada. The strike was a precursor of the Winnipeg general strike of 1919 and other labour conflicts.
Finnish Canadians are Canadian citizens of Finnish ancestry or Finns who emigrated to and reside in Canada. In 2016, 143,645 Canadians claimed Finnish ancestry. Finns started coming to Canada in the early 1880s, and in much larger numbers in the early 20th century and well into the mid-20th century. Finnish immigration to Canada was often a direct result of economic depressions and wars, or in the aftermath of major conflicts like the Finnish Civil War. Canada was often chosen as a final destination because of the similarity in climate and natural conditions, while employment in logging or homesteading attracted landless farmers in the early 20th century. Migratory movements of Finns between Canada and the United States was very common as well.
Albert Edward Smith, known as A. E. Smith, was a Canadian religious leader and politician. A social gospeller, Smith was for many years a minister in the Canadian Methodist Church before starting his own "People's Church". He served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1920 to 1922 as a Labour representative. In 1925, he became a member of the Communist Party of Canada.
The 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. The violent confrontation occurred near the small Francophone hamlet of Reesor Siding, which is located just west of Opasatika, approximately halfway between Kapuskasing and Hearst in Northern Ontario.
A company or "yellow" union is a worker organization which is dominated or unduly influenced by an employer and is therefore not an independent trade union. Company unions are contrary to international labour law. They were outlawed in the United States by the 1935 National Labor Relations Act §8(a)(2), due to their use as agents for interference with independent unions. However, company unions persist in many countries.
The Finnish Labour Temple is a Finnish-Canadian cultural and community centre and a local landmark located at 314 Bay Street in the Finnish quarter in Thunder Bay, Ontario.
The One Big Union (OBU) was a militant left-wing industrial union based primarily in Western Canada. Launched formally in Calgary on June 4, 1919, the OBU, after a spectacular initial upsurge, lost most of its members within a few years. It eventually merged with the Canadian Labour Congress in 1956.
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.
This is a timeline of labour issues and events in Canada.
The Lumber Workers Industrial Union of Canada was a trade union of lumberjacks in Canada. LWIUC was founded in Sault Ste. Marie 1924 by Finnish communists, who were dissatisfied with the Lumber Workers Industrial Union of the Industrial Workers of the World and the OBU. The two founding national secretaries of LWIUC were Alfred Hautamäki and Kalle Salo, both Finns. A prominent figure in the founding of LWIUC was A. T. Hill, a former wobblie and the leader of the Finnish section of the Communist Party of Canada. Overall, LWIUC maintained strong links with the Communist Party. Through the halls run by the Finnish Organization of Canada, LWIUC rapidly gained thousands of members. The headquarters of the LWIUC were initially at Port Arthur.
The Battle of Tysami was a military engagement involving a warship from the British China Squadron and the Chinese pirates of Chui A-poo. It was fought in September 1849 off Tysami, Harlaim Bay, China, and ended with a Royal Navy victory. It was also the precursor engagement to the larger Battle of Pinghoi Creek where Chui A-poo's fleet was destroyed.
In labour law, unfair dismissal is an act of employment termination made without good reason or contrary to the country's specific legislation.
Anti-union violence is physical force intended to harm union officials, union organizers, union members, union sympathizers, or their families. It is most commonly used either during union organizing efforts, or during strikes. The aim most often is to prevent a union from forming, to destroy an existing union, or to reduce the effectiveness of a union or a particular strike action. If strikers prevent people or goods to enter or leave a workplace, violence may be used to allow people and goods to pass the picket line.
William Arthur (Bill) Pritchard was a Canadian Marxist labour activist, organizer, editor, journalist, and politician. A major figure in the One Big Union movement, he also was one of the defendants in the 1920 sedition trial of leaders of the 1919 Winnipeg General Strike. Pritchard later was elected reeve (mayor) of Burnaby, British Columbia during the Great Depression and played an instrumental role in founding the BC Co-operative Commonwealth Federation.
The Canadian Labour Revolt was a loosely connected series of strikes, riots, and labour conflicts that took place across Canada between 1918 and 1925, largely organized by the One Big Union (OBU).
