The Canadian Labour Movement: A Short History

by Craig Heron

The Canadian Labour Movement is a fascinating story that brings to life the working men and women who built Canada's unions.

This concise history recounts the story of Canadian labour from the nineteenth century to the present day. First published in 1989, it has been updated to include new developments in the world of labour up to 1995. Heron depicts the major events and trends in labour's history, and assesses the current state and direction of the labour movement.

The Canadian Labour Movement is a masterful overview of the subject, providing a broad and accessible introduction to Canadian labour.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Canada

202 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1989

Reviews

[Beetsobriety · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book gives a decent overview of the Canadian Labour Movement as defined by Heron (basically unioned, white, "working class" vs "middle class", anglophone, and male). If you want a quick resouce into the TLC or the CCL, check it out otherwise I wouldn't bother. His attempt with the second edition to interject some of the "others" is a half hearted, half-executed struggle to read and his historical timelines are outdated.

[Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this for a class. I don't think I would have picked this book up alone, but it is a good and succinct overview of Canada's labour movement. I kind of wish people had to read this before they could vote. I did learn many things. My only real complaint is that I thought the timeline jumped around too much. Otherwise, I'd love to have a conversation with the author.

[Nicholas Martin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Poorly written, no citations just "further readings" divided into "eras" and written from such a pro-communist standpoint that even the social democratic NDP are a centrist party to the author. I'm not exaggerating. Thankfully it was short.

[Patti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great, highly accessible, introductory survey, but infinitely more readable than a texbook.