Canada’s First Teachers’ Strike, Booklet
The document, “Canada’s First Teachers’ Strike: Victoria 1919,” by Tony F. Arruda, details the historic two-day teachers’ strike in Victoria, British Columbia, in February 1919. On Monday, February 10, 1919, 169 teachers from the Victoria and District Teachers’ Association (VDTA) initiated Canada’s first teachers’ strike by refusing to report to their schools. This action followed the VDTA president, Mr. Jeffrie A. Cunningham’s, warning to the school board that teachers would strike if a satisfactory and just salary schedule was not met.
At the time, Victoria teachers, like many others in British Columbia, had limited influence over educational matters, salaries, or working conditions, and were subject to the decisions of their school boards. After experiencing a ten percent salary cut in 1914 and facing wartime scarcity and inflation, the VDTA sought a timely salary increase. Their demands were modest compared to their Vancouver counterparts, requesting a ten percent increase for January to June 1919 and a negotiation for a new scale effective July 1, 1919. However, the new school board in February 1919 rejected the previous board’s recommendations and offered only a five percent increase, leading to the deadlock and strike.
The strike ended on February 12, 1919, when teachers returned to work with the understanding that the matter would go to arbitration. Although the Minister of Education offered binding arbitration, it was later determined the school board lacked the legal right to delegate salary responsibilities. Ultimately, the board was compelled to meet the teachers’ demand for a ten percent salary increase to avoid continued strike action, and teachers were paid for the two strike days. The strike was seen as a significant victory, highlighting teachers’ growing collective identity and influencing future teacher associations in British Columbia.