Legitimation of organized labour's position in society advanced with the creation of local labour councils in the 1880s. They cooperated in forming national bodies like the Trades and Labour Council of Canada to lobby for improved labour legislation from the federal government. Workers' votes had assumed importance when the franchise was extended to more urban workers in 1885, after which labour organizations came to perform an increasingly political role.
In 1894, in response to pressure from organized labour, the federal government declared the first Monday in September a holiday to celebrate workers' contributions to society. The date was chosen to avoid confusion with the more common European labour holiday, May Day, which had socialist connotations most North Americans wished to avoid. In 1905, when this photograph of the Moncton Labour Day parade was taken, parades were usually followed by picnics, games, speeches and, in larger centres, a dance or some other form of evening entertainment. In the parade, the various trades associations showed off their products, skills or services.
Courtesy: Provincial Archives of New Brunswick (P75-3B)
