Labour Day: It all began in Canada - CUPE Ontario
For more than 130 years, Labour Day has celebrated the huge contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity and well being of our country.
It all began when the Toronto Trades Assembly organized the first North American “workingman’s demonstration” for April 15, 1872. About 10,000 Torontonians turned out to see the parade and listen to speeches calling for abolition of the law that made membership in a trade union illegal.
The demonstrators and speakers also demanded the release of 24 imprisoned leaders of the Toronto Typographical Union (TTU), whose members had gone on strike to back their demands for a nine-hour workday.
The demonstration and the strike ultimately led Prime Minister John A. MacDonald to pass the Trade Union Act, legalizing unions.