Local families enjoy Labour Day weekend in shadow of struggling economy

Some people were getting a head start on the last long weekend of the summer, as for many, the Labour Day weekend is a chance to spend time with family before school starts again.

Even as families and others come under increasing challenges from the economy.

There’s plenty to do this weekend, with people looking forward to parades and other Labour Day events, but even the fall fairs can’t escape the presence of challenges like U.S. President Donald Trump and his tariffs.

With the Labour Day weekend here, people are already enjoying the last days of summer at places like the Paris Fair.

A tradition that goes back to 1858, the Paris Fair is expecting between 60,000 to 70,000 people over the long weekend.

READ MORE: What’s open and closed on Labour Day in Hamilton, Halton, Niagara regions

“It’s the 168th fair and it gets bigger every year,” said former president and longtime volunteer of the Paris Fair Brian Sayles. “We’ve got more Midway, more rides this year than last year.”

The fair also featured plenty of animals brought from the farm to the city.

This weekend, the Hamilton Labour Council is preparing for its Labour Day parade Monday morning, but its president Anthony Marco says things are changing.

“People are realizing it’s getting harder and harder and harder every year,” said Marco.

Marco says cuts in government spending and services have gone too far, even with a fight against American tariffs.

WATCH MORE: Ticats legend Simoni Lawrence previews the Labour Day Classic

“The threats are coming from all sides and I think that a lot of people forget about working class families when they talk about big things like tariffs, when they talk about big things like education in Ontario and health care in Ontario,” said Marco. “One of the last things that gets thought about is working class families living somewhere in Hamilton thinking to themselves, ‘how am I going to get by?,”

As a day themed around celebrating labour approaches, 1,200 workers are on strike at National Steel Car, with no sign of a settlement.

“This is exactly what labour is for: we’re standing up for our health and safety rights,” said Frank Crowder, the president of the United Steelworkers Local 7135. “We’re standing up for fair wages.”

The tariff fight topic can even come up at the fairgrounds, with many expressing on Friday their dissatisfaction with Trump’s actions.

Meanwhile, kids at the fair were more focused on school starting in just a few days.

The Labour Day weekend also means another long time tradition: the annual Brantford and District Labour Council’s Labour Day Soap Box Derby on Monday morning, where kids up to age 12 have been picking up speed for 70 years.

READ MORE: OPP launch Labour Day traffic safety initiative in Haldimand County

“Usually the new kids will show up with a little slower car, maybe 20 km/h down the hill — some maybe 35 to 38 km/h sometimes,” said Don Guest, the president of the Brantford District Labour Council.

As for speed, the Ontario Provincial Police are reminding drivers that it’s OK to speed on the race course over the Labour Day weekend, but not on the roads.

“When we look at the number of fatalities across the province, 254 people have died in motor vehicle collisions,” said OPP Sgt. Kerry Schmidt. “The number one killer is speeding or aggressive driving.”

Unfortunately, the OPP say in recent years, there have been more collisions and fatalities on the roads during Labour Day weekend than any other.

They’re calling on drivers to slow down, and say they will be enforcing the laws on roads across the province this weekend.

READ MORE: Carney announces planned suspension of fuel excise taxes until Labour Day