Nova Scotia strike that turned deadly a century ago a milestone for workers' rights
HALIFAX – During Nova Scotia's storied 300-year history of coal mining, one deadly riot in 1925 proved to be pivotal for workers' rights in Canada.
One hundred years ago today, William Davis — a 37-year-old Cape Breton coal miner and father of nine — was shot to death by a special constable hired by the British Empire Steel Corporation (BESCO) — a monopoly mine owner that had repeatedly turned to violence to end strikes over poor wages and unsafe working conditions.
'William Davis's story highlights the many sacrifices that those unionized workers made when they stood up against oppression,' says Danny Cavanaugh, president of the 70,000-member Nova Scotia Federation of Labour. 'It serves as a reminder of a historic struggle that workers faced to secure their rights.'
Davis's death on the outskirts of New Waterford, N.S., commemorated every year in Nova Scotia on June 11, was the painful culmination of a long series of strikes and chaotic skirmishes.
During that time, the lives of mine workers and their families were tied to the fortunes of the corporation, which supplied them with homes and offered them credit at company stores that provided food, clothing and supplies few could afford on subsistence wages. Most miners were left deeply indebted, their hopes for higher wages frequently dashed.
On July 1, 1923, a strike at the BESCO steel plant in Sydney, N.S., saw hundreds of soldiers and provincial police on horseback harassing and beating strikers and uninvolved citizens. A local publication described the resulting melee as a 'reign of terror.' In Cape Breton, the event is still known as 'Bloody Sunday.'
'That strike was crushed but there's a number of those moments in the lead-up to 1925 as the pressure ratchetted up again and again,' said Lachlan MacKinnon, Canadian research chair in post-industrial communities at Cape Breton University in Sydney.
In early 1925, the miners were stunned to learn BESCO would again cut their wages. In response, District 26 of the United Mine Workers of America decided to go on strike. About 12,000 miners walked off the job.
Some unionized miners were thrown out of their company homes. And the corporation eventually withdrew credit from the company stores, making it difficult for miners to keep their families fed.
'People hunted for rabbits and deer and whatever else they could get,' MacKinnon said in an interview. 'And so hunger was really setting in by the end of that winter.'
At one point, BESCO vice-president J.E. McClurg taunted the miners, saying: 'We hold the cards. Things are getting better every day they stay out. Let them stay out two months or six months, it matters not. Eventually, they will have to come to us.'
The dispute came to a head when the water and electricity supplied to the miners' homes was cut off. The miners decided to head to a company-controlled power plant and pumping station at Waterford Lake, where they planned to cut off power to the mine in New Waterford.
According to Nova Scotia's Museum of Industry, between 700 and 3,000 miners, their relatives and neighbours walked to the plant where they were met by scores of special constables, many of them on horseback, armed with pistols and batons.
The company police opened fire as the crowd closed in. What happened next is subject to dispute.
One account suggests Davis was shot as he grabbed the reins of a constable's horse. Another version tells of the miner being hit by random gunfire. Up to four other people were wounded. Many others were badly beaten or trampled.
'After that, the miners overwhelmed the company constables and they brought them back to a (New Waterford) park,' MacKinnon said. 'There was concern, especially among the clergy, that the special constables would be lynched.'
Instead they were thrown in jail and eventually sent to Halifax.
Meanwhile, there was immediate retaliation against BESCO as all of its company stores were looted and burned. The era of the company store was over.
Davis was given the largest funeral the town of New Waterford had ever seen. And at a union convention later that year, June 11 was declared Davis Day. Miners across the region were given the day off.
'Ultimately, the British Empire Steel Corporation … collapsed and was reformulated under new ownership,' said MacKinnon. 'And the idea of using special constables was widely repudiated …. The government of Canada launched an inquiry.'
Nova Scotia's Trade Union Act was adopted in 1937.
Bobby Burchell, a former miner and union executive, said Davis and his fellow miners made a huge contribution to the advancement of workers' rights.
'Those guys back in the '20s, they made a big difference in the laws, not only for Nova Scotia but … for all of Canada,' said Burchell, who worked in the coal mine at Lingan, N.S., for six years before serving in senior union roles for the next 34 years.
'They were tired of living under company rules, with company stores and company doctors. They wanted some independence. They wanted some safety in the mines. They wanted better wages. They decided to fight for those benefits …. And laws were enacted to make the mines safer.'
Cavanaugh said Davis's sacrifice remains a key milestone in the province's labour history.
'Reflecting on this story, we encourage people to think more critically about the ongoing challenges we face today,' he said. 'In 2025, we're still struggling to get paid sick days and making sure that workers have a living wage. Even though we've come a long way, there's still much work to do around occupational health and safety laws.'
As for Burchell, his father, uncles and brothers all worked in the mines. And for the past 25 years, he has served as the master of ceremonies at the annual Davis Day commemoration at Davis Square in New Waterford.
That's where he'll be on Wednesday, along with some of Davis's relatives and Bea Bruske, president of the 3.3-million-member Canadian Labour Congress.
Over the years, Davis Day has come to mean more than just a tribute to the fallen miner and his fight for fair wages. The event, also known as Miners' Memorial Day, has become a day of remembrance for the more than 2,500 miners who have died as a result of accidents or disasters since 1838. Ceremonies will take place in many former coal mining towns across Nova Scotia, which has only one underground coal mine left at Donkin, N.S., where operations have been suspended since 2023.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 11, 2025.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Ottawa Citizen
an hour ago
- Ottawa Citizen
RCMP finally identifies Air India bomb-testing suspect
Article content BANTRY, Ireland — Police in British Columbia have finally identified the mysterious man who helped test a bomb on Vancouver Island a few weeks before the Air India bombing on June 23, 1985. Article content RCMP Asst. Commissioner David Teboul told Postmedia that the previously unidentified suspect in the mass murder case recently died without ever facing charges. Article content Article content He said he couldn't release the name of the man due to privacy laws even though he's now dead. Article content Article content Teboul and several other RCMP officers are part of the Canadian delegation here to mark the 40th anniversary of the Air India bombing. Dozens of relatives of victims are arriving to attend the service at a memorial to the 329 people who died when a B.C.-made bomb exploded on Air India Flight 182 off the coast of Ireland. Article content Article content Leading the Canadian delegation will be federal Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree. Irish Prime Minister Michael Martin is scheduled to attend, along with local officials and a representative of the Indian government. Article content Teboul, who is the commander of federal policing in B.C., said that despite the acquittals of two key bombing suspects in 2005, investigators have continued to work on the file 'to tie up some loose ends and discover more truth that's independent of judicial process.' Article content That's what lead them to uncover the identity of the mystery suspect, dubbed Mr. X, who travelled to Duncan on June 4, 1985, with terror plot mastermind Talwinder Singh Parmar. The two men then joined up with electrician Inderjit Singh Reyat. Article content Article content The trio went into the woods and tested a bomb all while they were being followed by agents from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. The agents heard the blast but thought it was a gunshot. Article content Article content Parmar, founder of the Babbar Khalsa Sikh separatist group, was killed by police in Punjab in 1992 before he could be charged in the Air India terrorism plot. Article content Reyat was convicted of manslaughter for building another bomb that exploded at Japan's Narita Airport 54 minutes before the Air India blast. Two baggage handlers were killed. And he pleaded guilty to assisting Mr. X and Parmar build the Air India bomb. Article content Article content Teboul said that while there is an continuing investigation 'there's very little realistic chance of seeing this matter go to another trial.'
Vancouver Sun
an hour ago
- Vancouver Sun
RCMP finally identifies Air India bomb-testing suspect
BANTRY, Ireland — Police in British Columbia have finally identified the mysterious man who helped test a bomb on Vancouver Island a few weeks before the Air India bombing on June 23, 1985. RCMP Asst. Commissioner David Teboul told Postmedia that the previously unidentified suspect in the mass murder case recently died without ever facing charges. He said he couldn't release the name of the man due to privacy laws even though he's now dead. Teboul and several other RCMP officers are part of the Canadian delegation here to mark the 40th anniversary of the Air India bombing. Dozens of relatives of victims are arriving to attend the service at a memorial to the 329 people who died when a B.C.-made bomb exploded on Air India Flight 182 off the coast of Ireland. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Leading the Canadian delegation will be federal Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree. Irish Prime Minister Michael Martin is scheduled to attend, along with local officials and a representative of the Indian government. Teboul, who is the commander of federal policing in B.C., said that despite the acquittals of two key bombing suspects in 2005, investigators have continued to work on the file 'to tie up some loose ends and discover more truth that's independent of judicial process.' That's what lead them to uncover the identity of the mystery suspect, dubbed Mr. X, who travelled to Duncan on June 4, 1985, with terror plot mastermind Talwinder Singh Parmar. The two men then joined up with electrician Inderjit Singh Reyat. The trio went into the woods and tested a bomb all while they were being followed by agents from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. The agents heard the blast but thought it was a gunshot. Parmar, founder of the Babbar Khalsa Sikh separatist group, was killed by police in Punjab in 1992 before he could be charged in the Air India terrorism plot. Reyat was convicted of manslaughter for building another bomb that exploded at Japan's Narita Airport 54 minutes before the Air India blast. Two baggage handlers were killed. And he pleaded guilty to assisting Mr. X and Parmar build the Air India bomb. But he testified at the trial of his co-accused that he didn't know X's name. He was later convicted of perjury. Teboul said that while there is an continuing investigation 'there's very little realistic chance of seeing this matter go to another trial.' But officers are doing administrative work like returning exhibits and working with families to better memorialize the victims. The RCMP is working with the federal Global Affairs Department to get an agreement with the government of India to allow pieces of the Boeing 747 recovered from the ocean to remain in Canada as part of a permanent exhibit or memorial, he said. It's important for Canadian investigators who worked on the case to attend the memorial here 'out of respect for the families, out of respect and remembrance of the victims,' said Teboul, who is on his third trip to the seaside memorial at Ahakista, Ireland. 'This is the largest act of terrorism in the history of Canada, so we — the RCMP — have an obligation to memorialize it and pay respect every year.' He has developed close ties with Irish first responders who pulled as many of the victims' bodies out of the sea as they could that day. 'It was really a Canadian tragedy, first and foremost. But it was also an Irish tragedy. A lot of Irish folks have been very invested in it through the last 40 years,' Teboul said. 'It's part of their history. So there's a lot of emotions there.' kbolan@ Blueksy: @
CBC
9 hours ago
- CBC
Latest from Tess Ha
The Canadian Bankers Association and Interac both say they are actively exploring technology to prevent people from using e-transfers to perpetuate abusive behaviour. It comes months after multiple Canadians told CBC News they have been victimized by abusers who use e-transfers to circumvent other safeguards that survivors of intimate partner violence have put in place.
