Canada and the Twenties

1. Canada and the Twenties

2. An Uneasy Adjustment In 1918, Canadians celebrated the end of WW1, after four long years soldiers were finally on their way home. There was no steady pensions for veterans, no special medical services for those wounded in the war, and few jobs. To make matters worse, many employers became rich during the war. Veterans made sacrifices, but were not reaping the rewards.

3. Workers Respond Workers demanded higher wages, better working conditions, and even the right to join unions Most communities in the Maritimes depended on a single employer for jobs. The British Empire Steel Corporation. Unemployment and long strikes meant hardship for everyone in the single employer communities When the strikes turned violent the provincial police and federal troops were forced to break them up.

4. Workers Respond In western Canada there were also many strikes over wages Western Union leaders were more socialist in their polices than union leaders on the East Coast, believing that ordinary people should have more involvement in government. Some western union leaders were influenced by the 1917 revolution in Russian (Bolsheviks) Under communism all means of production( factories, farms, railways) were publically owned.

5. The OBU At the Western Labour Conference in March of 1919, union leaders from western Canada succeeded in founding One Big Union. The OBU’s goal was to help workers establish more control of industry and government through peaceful means. The main weapon would be the general strike, a walkout by all employed workers.

6. The Winnipeg General Strike All the tension came to a head in Winnipeg (the financial center of western Canada, and the largest city at the time) In May 1919, Winnipeg’s metal and building workers walked off the job. They were demanding higher wages, and a shorter work week, and the right to collective bargaining. This would allow the union leaders to negotiate with employers on behalf of the union members. The Winnipeg Trades and Labour Council voted for a general strike in support of these principles.

7. The Winnipeg General Strike 30,000 people went out on strike Winnipeg was paralyzed. There were virtually no services running. Not everyone sympathized with the strikers. Business leaders, politicians and industrialists formed the CCOT (Citizen’s Committee of One Thousand) The Committee saw union leaders as part of a communists conspiracy to overthrow the government.

8. The General Strike The Mayor of Winnipeg appointed special police, fired many civic workers, and had the strike leaders arrested. On June 21st strikers held a parade to protest the mayor’s actions. The parade turned violent. The clash between the police and strikers became known as Bloody Sunday. One Striker died, thirty were injured, and many were arrested. Defeated, the strikers returned to work after a 34 day protest

9. What did the strike achieve? Well many former workers were not rehired Others were hired back if they were willing to sign a paper claiming that they would not join a union. Distrust between the workers and businesses grew deeper.