INDUSTRIAL
RELATIONS
IN CANADA
Third Edition
Fiona A. E. McQuarrie
Prepared by
Kenda Murphy, Saint Mary’s University
Chapter 3
History of the Canadian Union
Movement
Chapter 3 Objectives
• At the end of this chapter, you should be able to:
 Describe the geographic, cultural, economic, and
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political factors that are relevant to Canada
Identify the major events in Canadian labour
history
Understand the role of craft and industrial
unionism in shaping Canadian union structure
Discuss how American unions have influenced
Canadian unions
Identify some of the regional differences in
Canadian labour history
History of the Canadian Labour
Movement
• Canadian characteristics that have shaped
labour history:
 Physical geography
 Cultural mix
 Economic system
– Primary industries
– Secondary industries
– Tertiary industries (service industries)
 Political structure
Early Canadian Unionism:
the 1800s
• Informal worker’s groups formed as early as 1827
• The period of local unionism
 Earliest attempts to organize followed the craft union
model which was geographic centred and involved
small groups of workers
 This period sought to protect wages for skilled workers
thus controlling their markets
 Canada's role as exporter increased the demand for
quality trades-people’s work
 Craft unionism deterred widespread unionism because
it did not encourage non-skilled workers or non-trade
organizations
Early Canadian Unionism:
the 1800s
• An alternative organizing model emerged—
industrial unionism
 Rather than focus on a particular occupational
group, focused on “strength in numbers”
 Maximized power by recruiting as many members
as possible, regardless of occupation
• The dominance of craft unions led to the
expansion of the Canadian labour movement
through affiliation with international unions mainly
based in the United States (known as the
continental movement)
Early Canadian Unionism:
the 1800s
• A philosophical change occurred so that unions
began to work on common goals—Nine-Hour
Movement (1872)
• There was virtually no law in Canada governing
industrial relations issues; British government
used criminal law to try to curtail union growth
• In 1871, Britain passed the Trades Union Act; a
Canadian version was later passed
Early Canadian Unionism:
the 1800s
• The Catholic Church in Quebec was accused of
interfering with union organizing and
membership until the Bishops intervened and
smoothed the way
• Knights of Labor entered Canada in 1881—first
international industrial union to do so
• Trades and Labour Congress (TLC) was
formed in 1883; it effectively lobbied for
legislative reform for all workers
The Industrial Age: the Early 1900s
• Work evolved from rural-based to factory based
• With the prevalence of U.S. owned industries there
was an increase in the distance between the
employer and the worker – there was resentment by
the worker
• Federal Conciliation Act (1900) conferred the power
to appoint third-party intervenors or commissions of
inquiry to help resolve labour disputes
• The railways saw union expansion which brought an
increase in strikes which encouraged the passage
of the Industrial Disputes Investigation Act in 1907
The First World War
• The Canadian contribution to the war effort
made unionization more attractive to
Canadian workers
• While unionism was gaining favour, workers
felt that their concerns were not being
adequately addressed wherein their ability to
strike was limited by the expanded powers of
Industrial Disputes Investigation Act
The First World War Era
• The Winnipeg General Strike (May 15,1919)
 Was the first extended, large-scale general
strike involving workers from many different
occupations and unions
 30,000–35,000 unionized and non-unionized
workers walked off their jobs
 A committee representing employers and all
three levels of government attempted to force
strikers back to work
The First World War Era
• The Winnipeg General Strike (1919) (cont’d)
 Parliament passed emergency amendment to
the Immigration Act allowing for immediate
deportation of immigrants; broadened the
Criminal Code allowing police to arrest on
basis of suspicion (and not evidence); and
placed the burden of proof of innocence on
the accused rather than the state
 Strike ended June 25 but it did not end well
for unions
The First World War Era
• In Quebec, at the end of the decade, unions
gained strength because of the influence of the
Catholic Church
• In 1921, so-called Catholic unions formed the
Confédération des travailleurs catholiques du Canada
(CTCC)
 The CTCC was involved in several high profile
strikes, at least one of which (1949) ended well for
mineworkers when they were successful in having
their demands met
 In 1961, it became the Confédération des syndicats
nationaux (CSN), which still exists today
After the War
• Canadian unions faced many difficulties after the
First World War, including:
 Widespread unemployment and wage cuts
 Disunity within the union movement
 A poor agricultural market, the U.S. stock market
crash (1929), and the subsequent Great Depression
• In contrast, some positive developments occurred:
 Skilled workers were still needed and were able to
maintain unity
 “Industrial councils” were formed which included lessskilled workers
 Communities of ethnic immigrants within occupations
created networks for support and information
After the War
• Snider vs. Toronto Electrical Commission
 This 1925 ruling by the British Privy Council
settled the question of federal and provincial
jurisdiction over labour relations
 Federal government’s jurisdiction over labour
relations extended only to federally regulated
industries
 Ruling hampered development of Canadian
unions because of setting up federal and
provincial labour laws
After the War
• The Wagner Act (1935)
 U.S. legislation introduced by President Franklin
Roosevelt guaranteed three basic rights to U.S.
union members
– The right to organize
– The right to collective bargaining
– The right to strike without employer harassment
 Employers were forced to recognize a union that
had the support of the majority of workers
 Several provinces adopted similar legislation
The Second World War
• WW II saw a boom in the Canadian economy with
employment increasing along with increased
production
• The jurisdiction of the Industrial Disputes
Investigation Act was expanded in 1939 to allow the
government increased control over industrial
relations
• There was a counter balance found in a strike vote
being required to make any strike legal but in return
the government introduced wage and price controls
• Unionization rates increased significantly during the
war but so did strike activity
The Second World War
• In 1944, the federal government passed P.C. 1003
• It was modelled on the Wagner Act
• The significant features of P.C. 1003 were
compulsory bargaining and the right of employee
representatives to be recognized as certified agents
• Similar acts were passed by Quebec and B.C.
After the Second World War
• After the war there were fears of an economic
collapse, but there were more safeguards established
by the government than were in place after WW I
• The Rand Formula was developed in 1945
 Justice Ivan Rand decided union dues would be
automatically deducted from every worker’s pay
cheque, but that individuals would be allowed to opt
out of the union
 The Rand Formula was being used by 90 percent of
Canadian unions by 1950
• By 1950, nearly every province had a labour code
After the Second World War
• The Asbestos Strike (1949)
 An illegal strike, supported by Catholic churches
and the Archbishop of Montreal
 Quebec Premier Duplessis sent armed police to
community of Asbestos; strikers responded by
beating company officials and dynamiting company
property
 May: Strikers, incensed that the company had hired
replacement workers, attacked the mines and the
police; over 200 were arrested
After the Second World War
• The Asbestos Strike (cont’d)
 June: A settlement was negotiated
 Served notice to the world that the Catholic unions
were no less militant than their secular
counterparts
 Marked the end of the formal relationship between
the Catholic Church and the Quebec union
movement
The 1950s and 1960s
• Period of growth and development for unions and
was remarkably free from labour conflict
• The TLC and CCL merged in 1956 to create the
Canadian Labour Congress (CLC); the CLC affiliated
with the Quebec Federation of Labour (QFL)
• The predominantly international unions became
increasingly bureaucratized and centralized
• Early 1960s saw extensive public sector union
organizing but private sector wages and conditions
were superior
• Federal government passed the Public Service Staff
Relations Act in 1965
The 1950s and 1960s
• During the same period, para-public sector
workers also organized on a large scale
• Some joined existing public-sector unions;
others joined the Canadian Union of Public
Employees (CUPE)
• Also during this period, changing technology
affected workplaces
The 1970s and 1980s
• In the early 1970s unemployment and inflation
rose, coupled with the emergence of markets
external to North America
• Unions were blamed for inflation and lower
productivity
• 1975 saw wage and price controls imposed (for a
3-year period) which resulted in increased strike
activity
• In 1982, the federal government suspended
public servants’ bargaining rights for 2 years
The 1970s and 1980s
• Early 1980s Canadian economy experienced
 Increased interest rates to fight inflation
 Restricted social programs
• Legally, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms
(1982) provided new guidelines for labour
relations
• Politically, the election of a Conservative
government in 1984 created a hostile
atmosphere for unions
The 1970s and 1980s
• Labour movement also saw internal dissent:
 The Confederation of Canadian Unions (CCU)
presented an alternative to the CLC
 Construction unions broke away from the CLC
to form the Canadian Federation of Labour
(CFL) (1982–1997)
 In 1985 Canadian locals of the United Auto
Workers split from U.S. parent union to form
the Canadian Auto Workers
The 1970s and 1980s
• The trend that developed toward Canadian
control of Canadian unions has continued to
the present day
• The demise of the CFL and the CCU has left
the CLC and the QFL and CNTU as the major
labour federations in Canada
Into the 21st
• Liberalized international trade was the major
event of the 1990s, which includes the North
American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) of
1992 and Canada’s participation in worldwide
tariff reductions per 1994 GATT
• Some employers have used NAFTA to move
unionized jobs to regions with lower labour costs
and non-unionized workers
• Politically, the NDP, historically labour’s best
friend, declined in political clout
Into the 21st Century
• Several large-scale labour disputes in last few
years
 NHL lockout in 2004–2005
 York University strike 2008–2009
 Stora Enso lockout in 2006
 Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan strike in 2008
• Technology played a role in several of these
disputes and may be an increasingly important
factor in labour disputes in the future
Into the 21st Century
• Another development is the concentrated
effort to organize unions in Walmart stores
 Some certification applications have been
successfully filed but there has not been a
collective agreement concluded
 Added to this is that the Supreme Court of
Canada indicated that Walmart has been
permitted to close its operations for business
reasons and not anti-union animus
Into the 21st Century
• The future can be viewed negatively or
positively for unions
 Negative perspective
– Internationalization, the slow decline in
unionization rates, and the decline of the NDP
could suggest further erosion of unions’ power
 Positive Perspective
– The relative strength of Canadian unions
compared to those in the U.S. and the history
of adaptability of the Canadian system suggest
that the system will continue
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