Labour Day
Labour Day
Canadian Labour Day falls on the first Monday of September; similarly to the European May Day and American Labor Day, this holiday honors the hard work of the country’s employees. The day is not only an occasion to celebrate, but also to promote and fight for workers’ rights.
The beginning of September marks a new academic year, which is why many families take this opportunity to go on the last summer trip together during the long weekend. This period is also known for an important football event, 10 weeks into the season; Canadians gather around the TV to watch the Labour Day Classic, which is a special showdown between three top Canadian Football League teams. One match occurs on Sunday, and two on the Labour Monday. Some holiday celebrations, such as parades and concerts, are orchestrated by trade unions.
The idea for such a holiday stemmed from the 1872 worker strikes, or parades, in Toronto. At that time, trade unions were still forbidden in Canada, and that is precisely why the Toronto Trades Assembly, the first significant labor organization in the country, organized a happening on April 15. They also fought for a shorter work week, but the main goal of the parade was to free the 24 union leaders who were arrested during a previous strike. The first group that had been on strike before was the Toronto Printers Union. They were highly criticized by the prominent Liberal George Brown; in order to gain public support and in contrast to the liberalist, Prime Minister Sir John A. MacDonald promised to take down the law criminalizing trade unions. He proved his words to be true on June 14 that same year, passing Trade Union Act. The unions still had to struggle for a shorter work week, and this fight today is known as the “Nine Hour Movement”. Labour Day came to existence as an official Canadian holiday by the power of Prime Minister John Thompson on July 23, 1894, even though it had been annually celebrated for about twenty years already.
Not all celebrations of Labour Day are organized by the unions; some federal or provincial institutions also engage in arranging picnics, art events, public speeches, firework displays and other outdoor activities. The most famous Labour Day parade takes place in Grand Falls-Windsor, Newfoundland, and it lasts for three days; the tradition is almost a hundred years old.
The holiday is statutory in Canada, which means that all public offices and the post office are closed; many private businesses also decide to pay their employees for this day off. It is a merry and peaceful time for the people in Canada who work for the country’s wealth throughout the year.