Lawrence Frederick Sefton

Sefton, Lawrence Frederick

Lawrence Frederick Sefton, Larry, labour leader (b at Iroquois Falls, Ont 31 Mar 1917; d at Toronto 9 May 1973). A firm believer in international unions and political action, he was secretary of the mine, mill and smelter workers in KIRKLAND LK and helped lead the historic 1941 strike for union recognition. Blacklisted after the strike collapsed, he moved to Toronto and became an organizer on the steelworkers' union staff. He led the 1946 Stelco strike in Hamilton, becoming senior union representative in the Hamilton-Niagara area. In 1953 he was elected director of District 6 of the steelworkers, which covered Canada west of Québec. From 1958 he was an active VP of the Canadian Labour Congress; his greatest contribution internationally was as an initiator of the 1971 World Nickel Conference of unions. A CCF candidate for Parliament in 1949, he served on the party provincial council.