The first Monday in September marks Labour Day in Canada, a statutory holiday best known for allowing a last hurrah of summer fun over the long weekend. While it’s nice to have the day off, the original meaning of the holiday is often overlooked. So, what exactly is the history of Labour Day in Canada?
The Nine Hour Movement
Labour Day has been an official holiday in Canada since 1894, but its origins came 20 years earlier when the Toronto Typographical Union (TTU) requested a nine-hour workday. For context, they were currently working 12-hour days, six days a week. Their initial request, backed by a petition, was outright refused in 1869.
As years passed, the TTU was getting fed up, and their request had become a demand. Still, employers thought working less than 72 hours a week was unreasonable, and so on March 25, 1872, the printers walked out, beginning the historic strike.
Did it work? No. Although 10,000 supporters attended a rally at Queen’s Park (that was a fifth of Toronto’s population at the time), demands were not met. In fact, union activity was illegal in Canada at that time, and so the strike committee was arrested for criminal conspiracy.
Playing the long game
But it didn’t end there. Months later, seven unions in Ottawa organized a mile-long parade in support of the movement, which passed the house of then-Prime Minister Sir John A. MacDonald, who promised to eliminate the laws used to imprison the TTU workers in Toronto. Due to mounting pressures and the desire for political support of the working class, he followed through and passed the Trade Union Act.
Meanwhile, annual parades continued in support of the Nine Hour Movement. In 1882, an American labour leader witnessed a labour festival in Toronto and organized the first American Labour Day upon his return to New York. It was made an official holiday in Canada in 1884.
While the Toronto printers didn’t find short-term success, their efforts had a legacy that continues to impact Canadian workers to this day. Whatever rights you have as an employee, you can attribute to the unions, strikes, and calls for change that came before you. And as changes to the workforce continue to be made, remember these origins when you stand with your fellow working class.
Related posts:
Here’s what’s open and closed on Labour Day in Toronto
Here’s what’s open and closed for Labour Day in Calgary
Here’s what’s open and closed on Labour Day in Edmonton
Here’s what’s open and closed in Vancouver on Labour Day this year
