b"COVERUniversity of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections, Winnipeg Tribune Photograph Collection, PC 18sidesetupleadgroupstorepresenttheirwith guns blazing, a streetcar was overturnedmembers of the workers' Strike Committee side of the dispute: a Strike Committee forandburned,twopeopleweredead,30(somewhowereservingsentencesinjail) the workers and a Citizens Committee formorewereinjuredandmorethan80werenominatedandwonelectionatthe the business owners. At the outset, the twodemonstrators were arrested. municipal, provincial and federal levels. sides acted reasonably with a minimum ofItwasasaddayforCanadaandtheTheWinnipegStrikebroughtattention confrontation. However, as the strike wore onauthorities that used violence against workersto class division as much as labour rights, and the hot weather of summer in Winnipegto break the strike and try to suppress workerstatedGraemeAitken,ExecutiveDirector set in, tempers on both sides began to flareunrest. Their actions of the strikers becameofECAO.Italsospurredlabourgroups and things turned ugly. the battle cry for organized labour acrossacrossCanadatoworktogether.The In early June, Winnipeg authorities bannedthe country and internationally. A Manitobalabourmovementusedthemomentumof demonstrations,firedthepoliceforceandRoyalCommissionlookingintothestrikethestriketoorganizeworkersandpursue replaced them with club wielding vigilantesand events that occurred on June 21 ruledlabourrelationsandcollectivebargaining knownasspecialconstables.Violencethat the Winnipeg Strike was not a criminallaws at both the provincial and federal levels. eruptedbetweenthetwosidesandthingsconspiracy(asvoicedbythebusinessBy1950,mostprovincesandthefederal came to a head on June 17 when the Northowners)andthatbusinessownersmustgovernmenthadlawsinplaceconcerning West Mounted Police arrested the membersprovide labour with a contented existence ororganizedlabourthatprotectedunions of the Strike Committee.the government will take the necessary actionand workers.Atthatpoint,thepowderkegexploded.at their (businesses) cost. The Winnipeg General Strike was the event Despite the city ban on demonstrations, aTheaftermathofthestrikehadseriousthat drove home the need for workers rights silentparadewasorganizedonSaturday,consequencesforalllevelsofgovernment.inCanada.Therehavebeennogeneral June 21 to protest the arrest of the strikeThefederalandManitobaprovincialstrikesinthecountrysincethenbecause committee leaders, and what occurred thatgovernmentsbothweredefeatedintheofthepublicsupportforunionsandthe day became known as Bloody Saturday. BynextelectionsandmostoftheWinnipegeffectivenessofcollectivebargaining, the end of the day, the Riot Act had been read,politicians involved at the time of the strikestatedRebeck.AllCanadiansneedto the North West Mounted Police charged onwere defeated in the next municipal election.understand how important this event was to horsebackintothedemonstratingcrowdsIn a unique electoral situation, a number ofCanadas history.www.ecao.org18"