Did Labour Day Originate In Toronto?

It’s like asking who invented Santa Claus. Ask and you’ll get a lot of different answers.

St. Nick’s return is still a few months away but chances are he’s taking Labour Day off this weekend. Where did the workers’ holiday originate? It seems a number of countries try to take credit for the employee-centric stat, but there’s good reason to believe it actually originated right here in Toronto.

The story goes back to the 1800’s, when there were no restrictions on the number of hours a person could be forced to work. Shifts that droned on for more than 12 hours at a time were common and there were no such things as benefits or paid vacations.

When the Toronto Printers’ Union sent out a petition to management in 1869 pleading for a shorter work week in what became known as the “Nine-Hour Movement”, the bosses summarily dismissed the request. The discontent continued and by 1872, it was a smouldering fire.

The workers repeated their request, but this time it was in the form of an ultimatum – give us what we want or we’ll strike. When the employers refused, the printers walked en masse on March 25, 1872.

By April 14th, others had taken notice and a parade of workers some 10,000 strong took their complaints through city streets and onto the lawns of Queen’s Park.

The bosses fought back by hiring replacements and invoking an old law from the 1700’s that prohibited labour unions. The members who made up the strike committee were all sent to jail.

But it was one step too far for then Prime Minister Sir John A. McDonald, who saw a political opportunity and a chance to beat his rivals, many of whom owned the businesses affected by the walkout.

By June 14th, Parliament had passed a Trade Union Act, making the collectives legal. And while the original workers still lost their jobs, the idea they’d first proposed began to spread.

Soon after, nine hour days and a 54-hour work week came to Canada.

And no one forgot that original printers’ parade that started it all, leading to a regular celebration of the event.

When an American labour leader saw it take place in Toronto, he took the idea back home with him and organized the first true “Labour Day” parade on September 5th, 1882.

It finally became an official holiday here in 1894, and despite some efforts to move it to May 1st (May Day), it has remained the traditional end of summer event – and a holiday for most workers – ever since.

Image of 1900s Toronto Labour Day Parade

– Courtesy Wikipedia

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