Working classes

Over the course of the 19th century many Canadians became aware of the sufferings of workers in the emerging industrial-capitalist society and recognized the need to unify and coordinate the actions of labourers to deal effectively with employers. To counterbalance the power of employers, employees formed unions, set off strike waves, and joined such organizations as the Patrons of Industry and the Knights of Labor, which became the crucial institution in a remarkable social movement that brought workers in central Canada to the forefront of the nation’s political debate. Many Canadian workers became discontented with the failure of the traditional parties to address working-class interests; they met annually at the Trades and Labor Congress of Canada, where they passed resolutions calling for improved working conditions, which were later sent to the federal and provincial governments, and they founded political parties like the Independent Labor Party.