The 1919 Winnipeg General Strike | The Brian Mulroney Institute of Government

The Winnipeg General Strike began on May 15, 1919, in Winnipeg, Manitoba in response to the poor economic and social conditions following the Second World War.
These economic and social conditions were felt acutely by skilled building and metal workers who were attempting to negotiate new wage and working conditions contracts, veterans who struggled to obtain jobs following the war, and Canadians across the country who were struggling due to high unemployment rates, inflation, and the rising costs of housing and food.
Trades workers, unionized, and non-unionized workers engaged in several strikes throughout May and June of 1919 and this event is known as the largest strike in Canadian history.
While the Winnipeg Strike did not necessarily result in major change for workers it still sparked change in different ways.
New unions and political parties formed to further workers' rights (ex. Independent Labour Party and later, the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation), politicians and labour activists began advocating for better treatment and higher wages, and it sparked the development of other policy initiatives for workers such as healthcare, minimum wage, employment insurance, anti-discrimination in the workplace, etc.
The 1919 Winnipeg General Strike brought forth the creation of several federal laws that restricted civil liberties.
Two notable policies include adding Section 98 to the Criminal Code, which the Canadian government used to target "unlawful associations" and secondly, the federal government added Section 41 to the Immigration Act allowing officials to deport any alien or naturalized citizen who claimed to forcibly overthrow the government.
These policies gave the government unusual powers to deport individuals who were either a non-citizen, who advocated for property destruction, or who were part of an organization that promoted overthrowing the government.

Citation

The Winnipeg Free Press. The 1919 Winnipeg General Strike. Photograph. https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/multimedia/fp-slideshow/2012/06/14/the-1919-winnipeg-general-strike