Ahead of the Labour Day weekend, VSB’s executive director of employee services, Michael Gray, reflects on the history of the labour movement and its lasting benefits for workers everywhere.Labour Day Parade in Belleville, Ontario, 1913 (photo: William James Topley/Library and Archives Canada/PA-010532)

Labour Day Parade in Dawson City, Yukon, 1906 (photo: G.G. Murdock/Library and Archives Canada/PA-022493)This coming Monday , September 2, 2024, we mark Labour Day. It’s beginnings in Canada trace back to April 1872, when the Toronto Trades Assembly organized the country’s first worker demonstration of significance.  

Labour Day has been marked as a statutory holiday since 1894. The pictures above depict some of the earliest actions of the labour movement in our country. In marking the Labour Day long weekend, we acknowledge the work of the labour movement in Canada and share our appreciation for its advocacy to improve working conditions and health and safety of their members.  

Today and in our local context, we are deeply grateful to our union and association partners for their advocacy, leadership and support of OurVSB employees and their members.

Labour Day is also an opportunity to celebrate the trade unions in the Vancouver Metro area. The Vancouver and District Labour Council will host its annual Labour Day Celebration on Monday September 2 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Edmonds Park in Burnaby. Complete with activities and entertainment, this event welcomes everyone to a family-friendly celebration of working people and unions.  

On behalf of everyone at OurVSB, we wish our employees and their families a safe and restful Labour Day.