Labour Unrest in 1920s Canada

After the Winnipeg general strike, the Canadian government became aware that working conditions were not good. A major labour issue was the exploitation of child labour. In 1929, the law was passed declaring that children under 14 years old were prohibited from working in factories. However, young children continued to work in the farming and fishing industry. Some of the kids that were treated to most unfairly were known as the ‘Home Children’. Home children were British orphans that were sent to Canada to start a new life. These children were placed under little supervision but were still overworked. The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation leader J.S Woodsworth declared “We are bringing into Canada in the guise of philanthropy and turning them into cheap labourers”. The problem was apparent, and many Canadians believed that the government did not do enough to solve it. New parties began to form, speaking for the interests of specific groups such as farmers, and French-Canadians. The United Farmers enjoyed success in the west when they formed the governments of Manitoba and Alberta in the 1920s. The United Farmers promoted social welfare measures like old-age pensions and widow’s allowances. In the East, Maritimers did not have the luxury of having a party speak for their interests. Industrial workers were working under low wages and poor working conditions. Furthermore, thousands of jobs were being lost and little development was occurring. Maritimers finally decided to do something so they grouped together to form the Maritimes Rights Movement. The movement pressed the federal government to act on Maritime concerns and King responded with the Royal Commission on Maritime Claims in 1926. This document called for assistance for the coal and steel industries and improvements to ports. Thanks to these new labour conscious parties, workers across the country finally began to get to conditions that they deserved since the end of World War One. Labour would continue to be a glaring issue for Canada but because of the new policies set by these parties, Canada was a lot closer to fixing it.