A policy report on the labour market and the role of trade unions in Canada Abstract This policy report will summarise how the labour market in Canada has changed over time and how the role of trade unions has had an impact on this. We will make comparisons with other OECD countries in order to strengthen or dispute our conclusions as anomalies. The main effects on the Labour Force in Canada are that as its economy has grown working hours have decreased and working conditions have bettered. This report will find that trade union density has been consistently strong in Canada and unions have been able to secure much better working conditions and pay for Canadians. Unions introduced the first minimum wage, fought for gender pay equity and have been there to protect their workers over the last 100 years. Labour Force in Canada Canada was colonized by the French and Brits during the 15th Century and was founded as its own modern nation of Canada in 1867. We will today be mainly looking at the period after 1867 but because of its colonized start Canada has fostered some of the English systems. It has a very strong economic trading relationship with the USA however their politics and worker protection rights are incredibly different as we will see later on. Canada is considered an 'energy superpower' as it is abundant in natural resources with such a small population relative to land mass. All these things make it incredibly interesting to explore what really drives the decisions made for the labour force in Canada. We will mainly explore whether a country with a stronger economy has low working hours because they can afford to work less or whether it is due to trade union negotiation. The labour force of a country compromises all persons who are of working age, who are or wish to be employed. We define those who are employed as "those who pay or profit for at least one hour a week of work" (OECD). While those who are unemployed are those who are those who are of working age who are actively seeking a job. In order to make apt comparisons here we will compare Canada's labour force with other OECD countries. In 2018 Canada's labour force was at 19.8 million (OECD Data), with a population of 37.06 million (World Bank). Making 53% of Canada's total population part of the labour force. Of Canada's labour force the percentage of those unemployed was at 5.8% in 2018 we call this the unemployment rate (OECD Data). The OECD average unemployment rate is at 5.3%, meaning Canada has a higher unemployment rate than OECD average (OECD Data). Going into the 20th century Canada, like many other western countries, saw a rapid growth in manufacturing, mining, and service sectors due to technological advancements. Canada's main economy is the service industry, this sector employs almost three quarters of its labour force (Trading Economics).
Chart comparing 2018 GDP per Capita and Unemployment Rates