What was the Winnipeg General Strike of 1919?

The Winnipeg General Strike was a six-week general strike in Winnipeg from May 15 to June 25, 1919 in which about 30,000 workers across nearly all industries walked off the job demanding higher wages, an eight-hour workday, and recognition of collective bargaining. The Strike ended with violent suppression on Bloody Saturday (June 21, 1919) and the arrests of leading strike organisers. The Strike is the largest and most significant labour action in Canadian history and is commemorated as a landmark event in Canadian labour history.

The Strike had multiple causes. Post-war inflation had eroded real wages while unemployment grew as demobilised soldiers returned to Canada. The Russian Revolution of 1917 had energised labour radicalism worldwide. The One Big Union (OBU) was founded in Calgary in March 1919 and rapidly spread across Western Canada. The immediate trigger was a strike in Winnipeg's metal trades on May 1, 1919 over wages and union recognition; the building trades joined on May 2. On May 6 the Winnipeg Trades and Labor Council voted to call a general strike, with about 96 per cent approval among unionised workers.

The Strike began on May 15, 1919 at 11:00 AM. Within a week about 30,000 workers were on strike, including most public services. The Strike was led by the Central Strike Committee chaired by Robert Boyd Russell and including James Winning, John Queen, Roger Bray, William Pritchard, and Reverend William Ivens (the editor of the labour newspaper Western Labor News). The Citizens' Committee of 1000 (a coalition of business, professional, and political leaders) organised in opposition. Federal Labour Minister Senator Gideon Robertson and Justice Minister Arthur Meighen arrived in Winnipeg in mid-June to coordinate federal response.

On June 17, 1919 the federal government arrested 10 strike leaders under the recently amended Immigration Act and section 98 of the Criminal Code (which had been added in 1919 to outlaw 'unlawful associations'). On June 21, 1919 (Bloody Saturday), striking workers and returned soldiers marched in defiance of the ban on demonstrations. The Royal North-West Mounted Police charged the crowd, firing rifles and killing two strikers (Mike Sokowolski and Steve Schezerbanowicz). About 30 others were wounded and dozens arrested. The Strike Committee called off the Strike on June 25, 1919. The arrested leaders were tried in 1920; seven were convicted of seditious conspiracy and served prison sentences ranging from six months to two years. Several strike leaders, including John Queen and J.S. Woodsworth (later founder of the CCF), entered politics. The Strike galvanised Canadian labour, contributed to the founding of the federal Department of Labour, and is commemorated by the Winnipeg General Strike Mural at Pantages Playhouse Theatre.