Winnipeg General Strike 

 

On May 1st 1919, building and metal workers in Winnipeg left their jobs sites and went on strike for higher wages. Then, two weeks later the Winnipeg Trades and Labour Council called for a general strike. The general strike lasted from May 15th- June 25th, 1919. The council called the general strike in support of the metal workers. This strike may have been one of the most influential strikes in Canadian history. Once the first world war had ended, and the soldiers had returned home, life was not as they expected. They had not returned to a home that they had desired. Canada was going through some hard times, and specifically, there was a lot of tension in Winnipeg. After the war was over, the war factories started shutting down (because they were no longer needed). This caused bankruptcies and unemployment. The people who kept their jobs couldn’t keep up with inflation, and in this time, the cost of living actually rose by 64%. Canadians were very angry. Most canadians were angry because they wanted to be paid more and wanted better working conditions and environments. Some canadians just simply wanted jobs. Since everyone was so angry, the smallest thing could set off a huge riot. On the first day of May, the metal workers went on strike for higher wages and this set off what was going to be one of the biggest strikes in Canada. Two weeks later when the general strike was announced, the response of the people in Winnipeg was overwhelming. After this, a strike committee was formed, and it basically took over the city of Winnipeg. The city was impacted because elevators were shut down, trams were stopped, telephone and postal communication stopped, and none of this changed without approval from the strike committee themselves. Sympathy strikes began to break out across the country (sympathy strikes ar when they aren’t mad at their employer but are striking to support the people who are). Business leaders, politicians, manufacturers and bankers formed their own committee (Citizens Committee-consisted of around 1000 people) and turned to the federal government for aid. The federal government was willing to help because it had only been just over a year since there was a revolution in Russia (Tsar was overthrown) and the Canadian government feared a revolution. Once the strike started, within hours there was 30,000 workers who left their jobs, thats why the response was so overwhelming. The response caused factories to shut down, and businesses to close because men and women had just left their jobs because they were angry with their workplace and employers. The federal government was afraid that if there was such a huge response in Winnipeg, then people all across the country would start to leave their jobs too. The federal government decided to do something about this strike, and so on June 17 the arrested 10 leaders of the Central Strike Committee. Later on, more people were arrested, and some people killed. This strike caused a lot of problems in Canada, including casualties, other strikes to take place, people getting arrested and industries being shut down. But, it was a way for Canadians to show how angry they were about the unemployment issue and the wages issue. The war caused problems in Canada once the soldiers came home, and this strike was only one of the major issues that occurred.