September 24 - Banned in Canada

Labor History in 2:00 · Sep 24, 2026 · 1m

On this day in Labor History the year was 1918.

That was the day that the Industrial Workers of the World union was banned in Canada.

The Industrial Workers of the World union had grown steadily in Canada reaching as many as 10,000 members by 1911.

The union was especially strong in mining, logging, and the textile industry.

But backlash against the radical union was mounting in the United States and in Canada.

Swept up in Red Scare hysteria, the governments of both nations targeted the IWW.

With the beginning of World War I, labor unions that dared to threaten strikes or to speak out against…