The Canadian Working Class

Paper Summary:

This paper relates that the three individual articles about skilled artisans in Toronto, the working poor in Montreal and the First Nations of British Columbia seem to share little in common. However, the author summarizes that, in these articles, ethnicity, class, and gender are more important than geography in understanding Canadian labor history. Rather, the paper continues, these articles demonstrate that, in practically every industry, income disparity, wages, discrimination, urbanization, industrialization and poor working conditions are common labor issues.

From the Paper:

"However, the three authors present different views of industrialization. Industrialization and the shift toward a capitalist economy in Canada affected different groups of people differently. For the aboriginal population of British Columbia, industrialization and capitalism threatened and later undermined traditional ways of life. Trading was soon replaced by wage labor systems. Shifting from barter to a labor market unraveled the essential social institutions of traditional aboriginal society."

Sample of Sources Used:

• DeLottinville, P. "Joe Beef of Montreal: Working-Class Culture and the Tavern, 1869-1889." In Canadian Working Class History: Selected Readings, pp. 190-214.
• Kealey, G.S. "The Honest Workingman and Workers' Control: The experience of Toronto Skilled Workers, 1860-1892." In Canadian Working Class History: Selected Readings, pp. 112-142.
• Lutz, J. "After the Fur Trade: The Aboriginal Labouring Class of British Columbia 1849-1890" In Canadian Working Class History: Selected Readings, pp. 235-259.

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