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...It is in the hope of at arriving at an understanding of the reason for the comparative failure of the Socialist movement in Canada that I am attempting this brief outline of its origin and progress. --From introduction

By the terms of our Commission we were required: first, to consider and make suggestions for securing a permanent improvement in the relations between employers and employees; second, to recommend means for insuring that industrial conditions affecting relations between employers and employees shall be reviewed from time to time by those concerned, with a view to improving conditions in the future. 2. For the above purpose the Commission was directed: (1) to make a survey and classification of existing Canadian industries; (2) to obtain information as to the (3) character and extent of organization already existing amongst bodies of employers and employees, respectively ; to investigate available data as to the progress made by Joint Industrial Councils in Canada, Great Britain and the United States. 3. We opened the inquiry at the City of Victoria, in the Province of British Columbia, on the 26th day of April last, and completed it at the City of Ottawa on the 13th day of June instant. Between those dates we held seventy sessions in twenty-eight industrial centres, extending from Victoria, B.C., to Sydney, N.S., in the course of which we examined 486 witnesses. --Introduction

In this pioneering work, Gustavus Myers lays bare the corruption, swindling, land deals, and bribery that are at the basis of Canadian history. This is Canada's past seen through the eyes of a muckraker, and in it the heroes of other histories appear in quite a different light. This book was first published in 1914—in the United States. It has never before been published in Canada. Canadian historians have mostly ignored, suppressed, or mocked it. But history is not the preserve of apologists for big business and the political parties, and A History of Canadian Wealth is certain to be widely read and recognized at last as a classic. A landmark revisionist history of Canada, A History of Canadian Wealth remains as lively and startling as it was when first published. --Publisher's description (from 1st Canadian edition (Lorimer, 1972) with an introduction by Stanley Ryerson)

Commissioned in the aftermath of a strike by female telephone operators in Toronto, the report examined the causes of the strike, including compensation, workload and health.

The Royal Commission Appointed to Inquire into the Immigration of Italian Labourers to Montreal and the Alleged Fraudulent Practices of Employment Agencies was called in 1904 to investigate the recent influx of Italian labourers to Montreal and their exploitation by immigration agents. There were at least 6,000 Italians in Montreal in May of 1904, many of them unemployed despite being promised immediate employment upon their arrival in Canada. Large numbers of unskilled Italian labourers came to Canada at the beginning of the twentieth century, predominantly from the economically depressed regions of southern Italy. Although the government preferred agricultural immigrants, unskilled labourers were required to meet industrial demands. Italian migrants primarily went to Montreal and Toronto, finding work on the railway and in the mines. These labourers did not intend to stay in Canada but rather work for a season and make enough money to improve their economic situation in Italy. This system of sojourning labour was facilitated by padroni, Italian labour brokers that recruited Italian workers for Canadian employers and oversaw their transport and employment upon arriving in Canada. The system was rife with corruption as many padroni used deceptive tactics in the recruitment process and inflated fees for brokerage, transportation and food supply. The commission, led by Judge John Winchester, conducted an in depth examination of the padrone system, focusing its investigation on prominent Montreal padrone Antonio Cordasco. Since 1901, the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) had engaged Italian labourers almost exclusively through Cordasco. Witnesses alleged that Italian labourers could not obtain work with the CPR until they paid Cordasco a fee for arranging their employment. Once the labourers were hired, additional charges for supplies and food were deducted from their wages and paid directly to Cordasco. The rates Cordasco charged were 60 to 150 percent above cost. Cordasco induced Italian labourers to come to Canada by taking out advertisements in Italian-Canadian newspapers circulated in Italy, promising immediate employment upon arriving in Canada. In 1904, Cordasco recruited more men than the CPR required, creating an influx of unemployed Italian labourers in Montreal. Although Cordasco was aware of the labour surplus, he continued to demand fees from newly arrived Italian migrants under the false pretense of finding them employment. In his final report, Judge Winchester recommended that the city of Montreal pass a by-law requiring immigration agents and offices to be licensed before being permitted to carry out their business. Following the conclusion of the commission, the CPR fired Cordasco as their Italian labour agent. Although the commission effectively ended Cordasco’s career as a padrone, the system as a whole remained intact. The major companies employing Italian sojourners continued to use padroni to obtain cheap Italian labour. --Summary from Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 website (citations omitted)

Annuals reports, 1901-1983

V. 1, 1900-1901, to v. 65, 1965 , 1971, and 1975

In 1896, the Trades and Labour Congress petitioned the federal government to investigate the sweatshop system in Canada. Commissioner Alexander Whyte Wright inspected factories, workshops, and private homes in Halifax, Quebec, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, and Hamilton. He reported that, although working conditions and wages were generally appalling in factories and shops, workers in their homes toiled even longer and earned less.

In this paper some attempt will be made to discuss the conditions under which women are working in the Province of Ontario; referring, perhaps more particularly, to the City of Toronto, which has afforded the most convenient field of observation. ...[W]e find a large and increasing number of women employed was wage-earners; and Ontario, following the example of older countries, has found it necessary to subject their labour to various restrictions in order to protect the interests of society. Since the subject of child labour is intimately connected, both in factory law and inspection, with that of the employment of women, it has been discussed in connection therewith in this paper. --From author's introduction

Includes analytical index arranged by names of witnesses, and topical index arranged by subject.

1886 witnessed the height of a period of violent industrial strife in North America. In that year the eight-hour day movement culminated in Chicago's notorious Haymarket Riot. Both the Trades and Labor Congress of Canada and the American Federation of Labor became firmly established and held their first annual meetings; the Knights of Labor were at their peak. Unemployment, working dislocation, and social unrest were focusing public attention on the abuses of the emerging industrial system. Those with power - the big business monopolies - were exploiting those without, and the various levels of government seemed unable or unwilling to intervene. It was all too evident that wealth and progress were for the few, and poverty and alienation were for the many. What were the cases of this inequality, and how could the balance be restored? This was the 'Labor Question' that engaged the imagination of so many writers in the 1880s, men such as Henry George, Laurence Gronlund, Edward Bellamy - and T. Phillips Thompson. Thompson was one of the leading spokesmen of the Canadian labor and socialist movements for over three decades. This book presents a distillation of his thought in a constructive critique of the American political and economic system. Time has proved Thompson a prophet: much of what he advocated in The Politics of Labor has come to pass in the years since 1886. --Publisher's description (from University of Toronto Press reprint edition with a new introduction by Jay Atherton, 1975)

The BC Federation of Labour represents over 500,000 members from affiliated unions across the province, working in every aspect of the BC economy. It has a long and proud history of fighting for the rights of all working people to a safe workplace and fair wages. --Website

The Canadian Committee on Labour History is open to anybody interested in studying and promoting all aspects of working-class and labour history. The Committee defines working-class and labour history in the broadest terms and encourages study of working-class communities, culture, ethnicity, family life, gender, sexuality, migration, ideology, politics and organization. It recognizes the value of a diversity of disciplinary and theoretical approaches to the study of history and encourages open and active discussion and debate. As well, it aims to encourage the inclusion of working-class history in school curricula, through institutions of public history, and within the educational programs of labour and community organizations.

The Canadian Foundation for Labour Rights is a national voice devoted to promoting labour rights as an important means to strengthen democracy, equality and economic justice here in Canada and internationally. CFLR was established and is sponsored by the National Union of Public and General Employees..

The Canadian Industrial Relations Association (CIRA) is a diverse network of people from across Canada and around the world interested in promoting research, discussion and education in the field of work, labour, employment and industrial relations. CIRA sponsors conferences, encourages high quality research and practice, and fosters the building of relationships between members.

Canadian Law of Work Forum (CLWF) launched in 2020 as a space for academics, practitioners, and students to discuss and exchange ideas on work law, labour policy, and industrial relations. --Website description