1 / 33

The Roaring Life in Canada

The Roaring Life in Canada. Or, How we became more American. Winnipeg General Strike - 1919. Relationship between Canadian workers and employers becoming explosive Unions had become stronger during the war Winnipeg Trades and Labour Union wanted: Better wages Working conditions

quang
Download Presentation

The Roaring Life in Canada

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. The Roaring Life in Canada Or, How we became more American

  2. Winnipeg General Strike - 1919 • Relationship between Canadian workers and employers becoming explosive • Unions had become stronger during the war • Winnipeg Trades and Labour Union wanted: • Better wages • Working conditions • Recognition of their collective bargaining rights

  3. Winnipeg General Strike - 1919 • Bloody Saturday – June 21, 1919

  4. Think, Pair, Share Predict: How might these images relate? How might they differ? What is going on in each?

  5. Winnipeg General Strike North Main Street, 21 June 1919, resulting in 30 casualties and one death

  6. The Lead Up Winnipeg -Largest Western City

  7. The Lead Up 1. Soldiers -Lack of gov’t aid (pension, medical) -Few jobs -Resented rich employers (factory owners)

  8. Returning home, 1919 Returning WWI soldiers at Union Station, Winnipeg, 1919 Canadian Soldiers, WW1

  9. The Lead Up 2. Workers -Poor pay -Poor conditions

  10. Rules of the Workplace • (Cigar Factory) • 10 hrs make up a day's work • No one is allowed to stop work during working hours • All employees to be search before leaving the factory • Loud or profane talking strictly prohibited. • All employees wasting or dropping tobacco on the floor will be fined for each offence. • Hair combing not allowed in the factory

  11. The Lead Up 3. Influenza (Flu) Epidemic -Passed along CPR lines -Hit Winnipeg hard (1918/19)

  12. The Lead Up 4. Communist Influences -Russian Revolution (1919) -”Worker’s Unite!” -No private ownership -High Russian Population

  13. Power In Numbers Unions -organization ofworkers who have banded together to achieve commongoals

  14. Power In Numbers O.B.U. “One Big Union” (1919) -Represents all Canadian workers -Main Weapon: GENERAL STRIKE!! Strike Committee 1919

  15. Power In Numbers Collective Bargaining -1 bargains on behalf of the whole e.g. Union leaders negotiate with a company for better wages/ conditions for workers(union members.

  16. How It All Went Down • Metal Workers Walk Out(May 1919) Demands: -higher wages (85 cents/hour) -shorter work week (60 hrs/wk ->44) -Right to collective bargaining

  17. How It All Went Down 2. GENERAL STRIKE! -30,000 Support Strike -Strike Committee -Winnipeg ground to a halt!

  18. How It All Went Down 3. Citizen’s Committee of 1,000 -Business leaders, politicians,factory owners -Create Special Police Force -Arrest strike leaders -Fire civic workers -“Sedition” -threatening the state

  19. Citizen’s Committee of 1000

  20. How It All Went Down • Bloody Saturday (June 21, 1919) -Parade: workers protest -N.W.M.P. charge the crowd -1 dead, 30 injured -Many arrested

  21. How It All Went Down 5. Workers Defeated -Back to Work (Monday June 22, 1919) -43 day protest ends

  22. Results 1. Many strikers were not rehired

  23. Results 2. Some strikers were rehired, but forced to sign a contract: Forbidding union involvement

  24. Results 3. 7 arrested leaders served prison time J.S. Woodsworth: -formed the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation (CCF)  NDP

  25. Summary • Winnipeg in a fragile state, unhappy masses • Workers STRIKE to protest unrest • City grinds to a halt • Citizen’s Committee of 1000 opposes • Bloody Saturday – violence erupts • Workers return back to work

  26. Political Change after WWI • Robert Borden resigned shortly after WWI, due to his bad health • Arthur Meighen became the leader of the Conservatives and Canada’s 9th Prime Minister • William Lyon Mackenzie King (Liberal) and Meighen dominated politics throughout the 1920s • They hated each other.

  27. A New Look at Government LIBERAL Reformer, conciliatory, always looking for the middle path that wouldn’t offend anyone. CONSERVATIVE Believed in principals over compromise, didn’t care who might be offended by his stand on issues

  28. Arthur Meighen - Conservative • Helped draft Military Service Act (conscription) • Authored War Measures Act • Crushed Winnipeg General Strike • 1920 – Recession caused Meighen to become widely disliked by workers, farmers, immigrants and Quebecers • Lost election of 1921 to King

  29. William Lyon Mackenzie King • Elected in 1921 • Liberals (118 seats); Conservatives (48); Progressives (59) • Elected 1925 • Formed a majority with help from Progressives King would be prime minister for 22 of the next 27 years.

  30. Rum Runners http://www.cbc.ca/landandsea/2012/08/rum-runners.html

More Related