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This document provides a comprehensive bibliography and resource guide for the "On to Ottawa Trek" and related events during Canada's Great Depression. It was compiled by David Yorke for the On to Ottawa Historical Society prior to its merger with...

This 24-minute video documents the widespread unemployment and economic hardship experienced in Canada, particularly in British Columbia, during the Great Depression.

Robert (Bob) Smeal (1920-1976) describes his experiences as a young unemployed man during the Great Depression in the 1930s in Vancouver. He details his involvement with various unemployed organizations, including the Single Unemployed Protective Association (SUPA) and the Relief Camp...

This booklet discusses the dire economic period of the 1930s in Canada, and the critical social crisis that emerged with widespread unemployment. As a response, the government established remote Relief Camps where single, unemployed men were forced to work for...

The interview covers David Yorke's participation in two pivotal legal challenges, as well as the various labour history projects he has been involved in since his retirement. Two prior interviews by the BC Teachers’ Federation History Project Group cover his...

The On-to-Ottawa Trek in 1935 is a fabled part of Canada’s labour history. Thousands of unemployed men, frustrated with the lack of compassion from government to their plight, hopped atop freight trains in Vancouver with a plan to confront Prime...

During the Great Depression, unemployed men took to the rails, with the intention of arriving en masse in Ottawa. While they did not reach their destination, this protest lives on in memory. Students are introduced to the economic and political...

During the dirty ‘30s, thousands of single, unemployed men were forced into federally run relief camps: isolated, militarized work sites where they worked under punishing conditions for just 20 cents a day. In this episode of On the Line, we...

The Great Depression of the 1930s severely impacted British Columbia, leading to a widespread economic collapse and mass unemployment across Canada. Many young men traveled to the West Coast, seeking refuge from the hardship in the milder climate. This video...

This bronze plaque is located on the Main St. overpass near E Waterfront Road in Vancouver, BC. It was developed with the support of the On to Ottawa Historical Society, which merged into the BC Labour Heritage Centre in 2018....

This 640-acre area was a military training ground, then a Great Depression relief camp, later Vancouver’s main training facility during World War II. The Blair Rifle Range is now an unsafe urban wasteland.

Explore some of the women in BC’s labour history who created milestones for the movement.

Project News was a publication of the Relief Project Workers' Union (RPWU) The RPWU was successor to the Relief Camp Workers' Union, a creation of the Workers' Unity League which had led the 1935 strike that culminated in the On-to-Ottawa...

This bronze plaque is located at the corner of Mt. Seymour Parkway and Northlands Dr. in North Vancouver, BC. It was developed with the support of the Deep Cove Heritage Society. The plaque was cast at Ornamental Bronze, a unionized...

Clay Perry (1934-2015) was passionate about preserving and promoting BC labour history. In 1988 he recorded humourous segments for a television program produced by the BC Federation of Labour titled "BC at Work" that presented issues from the perspective of...

In April 1935 thousands of single unemployed men organized by the Relief Camp Workers’ Union went on strike to demand “Work and Wages” as the Depression wore away at the country. “Snake parades” through city streets were frequent during the...

This interview with Joey Hartman covers her extensive history as an activist and labour leader in British Columbia. Joey discusses her upbringing in Vancouver and her early work experiences in early childhood education. A particularly formative experience was the mentorship...

In the early 20th C, the large, exploited workforce of the smelter at Trail was ripe for organizing. Those efforts were contentious and the politics formidable. Company unions versus legitimate unions, communist union leaders versus anti-communist union leaders, International unions...

The Labour History Association was formed within the BC Teachers' Federation (BCTF) in 1976. It produced this series of newsletters which remain a valuable source of labour history in British Columbia.They focus on promoting and integrating labour history into the...

The Collected Materials fonds, spanning from 1913 to 2016, includes items donated to the BC Labour Heritage Centre over its lifetime. The fonds contains a diverse array of records related to the labour movement in British Columbia.

The material begins by establishing the fundamental question of why unions are needed, using interviews with contemporary individuals and historical oral accounts to introduce the idea of collective action. It then delves into the harsh realities faced by early workers...

This is a joint interview with Charles McGregor Stewart (1891-1968) and Peter Campbell Munro (1887-1971), who were active in the Street Railwaymen’s Union in Vancouver, British Columbia in the early decades of the 20th century. They discuss the impact of...

John Murray "Jack" Campbell (1882-1969) came to Canada from Ireland in 1906, working at various jobs including on the Canadian Pacific Railway, on ranches in the Okanagan, eventually settling in Burnaby where he joined the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers...

Elroy Robson (1897-1986) was a labour organizer for the Canadian Brotherhood of Railway, Transport and General Workers (CBRT) who held senior offices in other central labour bodies becoming the first President of the Ontario Federation of Labour in 1944. He...

Gayle Nye was born and raised in Victoria, BC, as were her parents and grandparents. The earlier generations worked in the fishing industry, but a family tragedy inspired Gayle’s father to leave fishing and join the public service. Gayle’s started...