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Founded in 1883, the Trades and Labor Congress of Canada (TLC) was the first union central to take lasting root in Canada. Principally bringing together craft unions, the TLC was the largest workers’ organization in Canada at the turn of the 20th century. The TLC saw its membership fluctuate in the 20th century because of the fierce competition between national and international unions and the rise of industrial unionism. In 1956, the organization merged with the Canadian Congress of Labour to become the Canadian Labour Congress.

The United Farmers of Canada was a militant farmers' organization established 1926 as the United Farmers of Canada (Saskatchewan Section). It combined the radical Farmers' Union of Canada and the more conservative Saskatchewan GRAIN GROWERS' ASSOCIATION.

 Vancouver Island Coal Strike began on 16 Sept 1912 when miners at Cumberland declared a "holiday" to protest the firing of Oscar Mottishaw. Canadian Collieries, recent purchaser of the Dunsmuir Mines, locked them out and hired Chinese and recruits from Britain and the US as strikebreakers.

In 1919, with over 50,000 members, the UFO entered politics and won a plurality in the provincial election. E.C. DRURY, a Barrie farmer and longtime rural leader, was chosen premier.

Trade Unions, see WORKING-CLASS HISTORY; UNION CENTRALS; and entries under LABOUR.

The Windsor Ford Strike was a 99-day strike from 12 September to 19 December 1945 by 11,000 employees of the Windsor, Ontario, Ford Motor Company plant. Some 8,000 auto workers from other plants also participated. The Ford workers, who were led by the United Automobile Workers of Canada (UAW), demanded recognition of their union by Ford and mandatory membership for all plant workers. The strike was ultimately resolved through binding arbitration under Supreme Court Justice Ivan C. Rand and resulted in the widely used Rand Formula.

In 1961 the BC Legislature prohibited trade unions from using membership fees paid under a collective agreement checkoff provision for political purposes.

The United Steelworkers (USW) is the largest international union in Canada and one of the largest unions of private-sector workers.

 During the first years of operation, companies like Alberta Pacific Grain and United Grain Growers agreed to process the first Pool deliveries through their own facilities.

The One Big Union (OBU) was a radical labour union formed in Western Canada in 1919. It aimed to empower workers through mass organization along industrial lines. The OBU met fierce opposition from other parts of the labour movement, the federal government, employers and the press. Nevertheless, it helped transform the role of unions in Canada.

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As the social evils of industrialization and urbanization unfolded in the later 19th century, many Canadians saw the basic problem as an excess of individualism.

The Nine Hour Movement was an international phenomenon, taking place in Canada between January and June 1872. The movement’s goal was to standardize shorter working days.

The United Farmers of Quebec (Fermiers unis du Québec) were founded in 1920. PM Borden's decision to conscript farm youths caused a huge farmers' demonstration in Ottawa on 15 May 1918 and gave Québec farmers their first contact with the United Farmers movement in English Canada.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees, founded 1963 with 86 000 members, is a merger of the National Union of Public Employees and the National Union of Public Service Employees.

The Winnipeg General Strike of 1919 was the largest strike in Canadian history (see Strikes and Lockouts). Between 15 May and 25 June 1919, more than 30,000 workers left their jobs (see Work). Factories, shops, transit and city services shut down. The strike resulted in arrests, injuries and the deaths of two protestors. It did not immediately succeed in empowering workers and improving job conditions. But the strike did help unite the working class in Canada (see Labour Organization). Some of its participants helped establish what is now the New Democratic Party.

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This is the full-length entry about the Winnipeg General Strike of 1919. For a plain-language summary, please see Winnipeg General Strike of 1919 (Plain-language Summary).

The Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists, better known as ACTRA, is the union that represents performers in Canada’s English-language radio, television and film industries. Through its Performers’ Rights Society, it secures and disburses use fees, royalties, residuals and all other forms of performers’ compensation. Some of ACTRA's other activities include administering health insurance and retirement plans for its 22,000 members, negotiating and administering collective agreements, minimum rates and working conditions, lobbying for Canadian content and a strong Canadian production industry, and promoting and celebrating Canadian talent.

A number of organizations were formed to oppose the reciprocity agreement of January 1911 between Canada and the US. Most prominent was the Canadian National League, headed by Toronto lawyer Zebulon Lash.

The United Farm Women of Alberta (UFWA) was the first provincial organization of farm women in Alberta. Originally an auxiliary of the United Farmers of Alberta (UFA), the UFWA became a separate organization in 1916. The organization became the Farm Women’s Union of Alberta (FWUA) in 1949 and the Women of Unifarm in 1970. The organization dissolved in 2000.

The United Farmers of Alberta (UFA) was founded in 1909. This organization advocated for rural co-operatives and for the needs and interests of farmers in Alberta (see Co-Operative Movement). The UFA became involved in politics and was provincially elected from 1921 to 1935. By 1939, the UFA ended its political activities, but it continued to support provincial farmers.