Confrontation at Winnipeg: Labour, Industrial Relations, and the General Strike. Rev. ed.

Tony Barclay is a retired juvenile corrections probation officer and a
former public-health research associate at the University of Toronto.

This book is a history of the 1919 Winnipeg Strike, examined through a
study of Winnipeg’s Trades Union movement up to that time. The strike
was a central event in Canada’s labor history: as a long general
strike that disrupted a major city’s vital services, it is unique.

This book does not dwell on the political and social aspects of the
event; rather, in meticulous detail, it shows how the strike came about,
and discusses the forces supporting and opposing it. Over the years,
myths—some deliberately fostered by the governments and others
opposing the strike—have developed concerning the role of non-British
immigrants. These myths are explored and exploded.

The last two chapters, which give an overview of the strike, its
issues, and its place in history, would be a useful starting point for
readers interested in the strike in general terms, although this book is
not for the general reader. For serious students of the subject,
however, it will be a vital sourcebook.