Canada

Canada-U.S. trade war takes centre stage at Toronto's annual Labour Day parade

Unions, labour leaders call for better worker supports in midst of ongoing trade war

Thousands of workers and union members marched in Toronto's annual Labour Day parade Monday, calling on greater support for the working class as the Canada-U.S. trade war drags on.

Andria Babbington, president of the Toronto and York Region Labour Council, kicked off labour leader speeches at the march by saying the federal and provincial government's tariff response should "put working people first."

"Today our message is loud and clear: defending workers everywhere," she said.

Right now we are facing an unprecedented tariff attack from across the border … we stand firmly with Canada's dollar-for-dollar retaliatory counter-tariffs."

"But a trade war cannot be waged on the backs of working people."

Babbington was joined on stage by a number of other labour and union leaders, including Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) regional vice-president Yolanda McClean and Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) president JP Hornick.

Numerous political leaders were also in attendance Monday, including Ontario labour minister David Piccini, Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles, and federal NDP Leader Avi Lewis.

No talks scheduled as Canada's counter-tariffs against U.S. set to take effect at 12:01 a.m.

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The parade kicked off a day before Canadian counter-tariffs on $27.6 billion worth of goods are set to hit U.S. markets.

Canada's response is a tit-for-tat measure after trade negotiations collapsed and the U.S. imposed 50% tariffs on about $28 billion worth of Canadians goods late August. Some Toronto businesses have said they are already feeling the impact.

"Today we celebrate the workers that built this great province," Piccini said, calling the tariff impacts on them "poignant."

"What we know is we don't need [Trump] or Washington to mine critical minerals, to build new nuclear, to build our hospitals, schools and public transit," he said.

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Bea Bruske, president of the Canadian Labour Congress, said walking away from a "bad deal" with the Trump administration was "absolutely the right thing to do," but it won't be "painless."

"There will be sacrifices, and we need to make sure that those sacrifices are shared equally," she said during Monday's parade.

"We need stronger employment insurance, easier access, longer benefits, and a higher benefit rate."

Laura Walton, president of the Ontario Federation of Labour, which represents over 54 unions and one million workers, called for them to be included in the decision-making process when it comes to the trade war.

"We as workers know how we are going to come out of this. We need to be at the table and we need to be part of the decision making," she said.

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Labour Day has been a statutory holiday for over 130 years since 1894 in Canada, according to the Canadian Encyclopedia.

The Toronto and York Region Labour Council previously said it expected over 20,000 people to attend this year's parade.

The annual holiday drew remarks from both Prime Minister Mark Carney and Ontario Premier Doug Ford.

"Today, we celebrate the millions of hardworking men and women who get up every day to support their families, build their communities and protect Ontario. No matter what comes our way, we’ll always have their backs," Ford said in a post to social media platform X.

In a statement posted Monday on the Prime Minister's website, Carney said Canada is "stepping up" to support workers and businesses in the "face of unjustified and unprovoked tariffs from the United States."

"For generations, unions have made our economy stronger and our country fairer…. when we look out for one another, when we work together, when we are united, there is nothing Canadian workers cannot do."

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With files from Clara Pasieka and Amy van den Berg