Labour Day, the first Monday of every September, means many things to different people.
For some, it’s an annual cottage getaway with family; for others, it’s the final farewell to summer. For students, it marks the beginning of a new school year. But how often do we pause to remember Labour Day as what it truly is: a hard-earned rest from our labours?
In my last blog post, I mentioned how Labour Day was adopted in the United States in a deliberate effort to create a workers’ holiday separate from May Day and its socialist associations. But what many don’t realize is that Labour Day also has roots in the Canadian labour movement, born from struggle and success.
The origins of Labour Day in Canada are commonly traced back to April 15, 1872, when striking printers in Toronto, members of the Toronto Typographical Union, organized mass demonstrations demanding better working conditions. Their protest led directly to the enactment of the Trade Unions Act, which legalized unions in Canada for the first time.
Ten years later, on July 22, 1882, a massive labour celebration in Toronto caught the attention of American labour leader Peter J. McGuire. Inspired, he organized a similar parade in New York City on September 5 of that year. From there, unions in both Canada and the U.S. began promoting labour parades and festivities on the first Monday in September.
In Canada, these local celebrations spread to cities like Hamilton, Oshawa, St. Catharines, Ottawa, London (Ontario), Montreal, Halifax, and Vancouver.
By 1889, the Canadian federal government recommended recognizing an official “Labour Day.” Yet, it wasn’t until the Spring of 1894, that unions successfully lobbied Parliament to declare it a national public holiday, with legislation passed later that summer.
Today, workers in Ontario and across Canada enjoy Labour Day as a statutory holiday, a well-deserved day of rest and public holiday pay. But while we enjoy the long weekend, it’s important to remember what Labour Day commemorates: the tireless efforts of workers in every sector, who build, maintain, and grow this country through their labours.
Thanks to decades of labour activism, strikes, and organizing, nearly all Canadian workers benefit from:
- Weekends
- Paid holidays
- The standard 9-hour workday
- Safer workplaces
- Minimum wage protections; and
- Maternity and paternity leave
Yet, these rights were not handed down they were won. Labour Day is not just a break from work; it’s a reminder of the power of solidarity and a call to continue fighting for fairness, equity, and dignity in the workplace.
So, while you say goodbye to summer this Labour Day weekend remember not just the prior efforts of others, but the actions you must take to continue to fight for better working conditions and protections in Canada.
