Labour Day Picnic

Join us this Labour Day to celebrate and build workers’ struggles for a better life. Visit community and union information tables, enjoy free food, great music, and keep the kids entertained with lively activities. See you there!

Origins of Labour Day in Canada

During Canada’s industrial revolution, people were expected to work 12 hours a day or more. The "Nine Hour Movement" began in Hamilton, Ontario, then spread to Toronto.

Employers called the demand for a shorter work week "foolish, absurd, and unreasonable." Defiant, the Toronto Typographical Union struck for a nine-hour work day on March 25, 1872.

On April 15, a solidarity rally of 2,000 workers marched through Toronto. By the time they reached Queen's Park, the crowd was 10,000 strong.

Employers launched a legal action against the typographers’ union for conspiracy. Canadian law treated union activity as a criminal offense, and police arrested the 24 members of the strike committee.

Fearing the spread of class struggle, Prime Minister John A. Macdonald had the imprisoned strikers released. On 14 June, Parliament passed the Trade Unions Act, making unions legal. After 1872, most union demands included the 9-hour day and a 54-hour week.

In 1894, Parliament made Labour Day a national statutory holiday. That year, workers in Winnipeg organized a Labour Day parade that stretched for 5 km.