Mr. Speaker, I would like to stand today to recognize the 90th anniversary of the Winnipeg general strike which is considered the biggest and most traumatic general strike in Canada.
Ninety years ago workers banded together and demanded fairness. Tradesmen, labourers and workers from nearly every walk of life walked off the job.
All in all, nearly 22,000 workers left work to protest the poor working conditions and low wages. The strike paralyzed the city and had a nationwide effect. It officially began on March 15, 1919 and ended on June 26, 1919.
The strike left a powerful legacy in the minds of working Canadians. In 1920, 11 Labour candidates won seats in the Manitoba legislature. Four of them were strike leaders.
In 1921, J. S. Woodsworth, a Methodist minister turned striker, became the first independent Labour MP elected to Ottawa. He would later become the first leader of the CCF, the forerunner of today's NDP.