Labour Day

The year 2019 marked the 125th anniversary of Labour Day being recognized as a statutory holiday in Canada. This long weekend that includes the first Monday in September is typically celebrated with end-of-summer barbecues or pool parties. However, Labour Day’s origins are found in the nineteenth-century union movement.

25,000

Average number of participants expected at the annual Labour Day Parade in Toronto, the site of the first unofficial Labour Day events.

9 

Number of Canadian cities that hosted Labour Day-related events before it was designated a statutory holiday: Toronto, Hamilton, Oshawa, Montreal, St. Catharines, Halifax, Ottawa, Vancouver, and London.

1894

The year the government of Prime Minister John Thompson designated Labour Day a statutory holiday. Early Labour Day events involved parades — reminders of the marches for workers’ rights — as well as games, picnics, speeches, and even church services.

5

Length in kilometres of the 1894 Labour Day parade in Winnipeg.