Throughout his 50 years in Prince Rupert, George Bernard Casey was a steadfast representative of the working class and its union organizations. Born in Ontario in 1876, George Casey headed to the United States as a young man where he spent time as a “hobo”, ending up in jail on Read more…
by Bob McDonald This article is reprinted from the May 2019 Vancouver Historical Society newsletter. Bob McDonald, one of BC’s leading historians, passed away on June 19, 2019. This image is from a Labour Day parade on Hastings Street in Vancouver in the late 1890s. Here we see a forty-foot Read more…
“A Duty to Organized Labour and Workers Throughout the Whole Dominion” When the Winnipeg General Strike began on May 15, 1919 sympathy strikes in communities across Canada soon broke out. In British Columbia, the heroic Vancouver sympathy strike and Victoria’s four day stoppage are often cited as examples. (see bibliography). Read more…
Did you know that October is Women’s History Month in Canada? This year’s theme is #MakeAnImpact – we would like to highlight a woman in BC’s labour history who certainly did just that. Helena Gutteridge, ca. 1911 – City of Vancouver Archives [371-2693] The 1912 recession was difficult for all Read more…
With high unemployment and a recession in full swing, the Asiatic Exclusion League (AEL) was formed by the Vancouver Trades and Labour Council in August 1907, with the aim of “keeping Oriental immigrants out of British Columbia”. It is a sad and troubling part of BC’s labour history. Unfortunately, this Read more…