St. Catharines’ Merritton Labour Day parade celebrates workers amid trade war

The 79th Merritton Labour Day parade took place in St. Catharines Monday morning.

Many local groups and unions came out to celebrate and say this year it’s more important than ever for workers to have a strong voice.

“Tariffs are affecting all different industries. We represent steelworkers at Valbruna who are heavily affected by the tariffs, General Motors with the tariffs on the auto industry, is affecting our members,” says Jordon Lennox, the President of Unifor Local 199.

The parade is a mix of unions, politicians and local groups. The focus is to celebrate and stand up for workers’ rights.

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“I think it’s just giving voice to workers, I think workers are not always represented, and I think that the divide is growing so just giving workers a voice and letting them advocate for themselves is the most important part,” says Rory Bourgeois, the President of CUPE Local 150.

Fifty-two groups took part in today’s parade as thousands of people from across Niagara came out to show their support.

“It’s really important that we celebrate Labour Day today, that we are celebrating all the workers of the past and now and making sure they have good paying jobs and decent hours,” says Jennie Stevens the MPP for St. Catharines.

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“Today labour is under attack like never before, we need to make sure we continue to fight for workers not just here in Niagara but right across the county,” says Wayne Gates, the MPP for Niagara Falls, Fort Erie and Niagara-On-The-Lake.

The Labour Day parade in St. Catharines has been going on for 79 years and all these years later today’s participants are still saying it’s still important to have a voice.

“Labour Day is important to support. [Without it,] regular non-union workers wouldn’t enjoy vacation, overtime, all the different things that unions have fought for over the years so this is the day to celebrate all of those gains that we made as we have unionized workplaces and gained worker power,” Lennox says.

And they will be marching in solidarity again next year for the 80th Merritton Labour Day parade.

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