History of Canadian Labour Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

History of Canadian Labour - Article Example Thousands of workers earlier excluded from the labor movement found a home in the Knights. Women now came to the union movement for the first time in our history. In another further thinking step, the Knights allowed separate local assemblies for French and English workers in Montreal. However, this grace did not expand to Chinese and other Asian workers, in particular in British Columbia. The Knights in Canada were part of a bigger movement that had appeared in the United States in the 1860s. This was not unexpected since workers all through North America faced the same problems. Fraternal ties between workers in the two states gave the impression of making good sense. The Knights' assemblies in Canada, however, emerged first and principally out of local conditions. In small communities like Galt and St. Catharines, Ontario as well as in Toronto, Montreal, Winnipeg, and other larger centers, workers established assemblies to address local grievances in their workplaces, as well as the general health of their communities. Concerned with the effects of an increasingly competitive labor market and poor living environment in their towns, the Knights attempted to moderate this situation that appeared to go hand-in-hand with industrialism.