The Winnipeg General Stirke was Canada's best known general strike. A general strike is a strike by all or most of the workers in a variety of industries that occurs at the same time. After the war, the cost of goods rose and workers suffered from low wages and massive unemployement. The strike was a vital development in the creation of the democratic socialist movement in Canada. The strike began on May 15, 1919 and did not end until June 26, 1919. The Winnipeg General Strike was the end result of a series of local and international events that had been building in the years leading up to the strike.
             There were many local events that contributed to the creation of the strike. The general strike grew out of two ordinary srikes. (Lewis, Samuel & Penner, 1973) The first strike had taken place in Winnipeg in 1918. It lasted for over three weeks, although it only reached semi-general proportions. According to Masters (1973), In some ways it was a rehersal for the general strike which began a year later. Another crisis took place in Western Canada in 1918. In the month of July, in British Columbia, there was another strike of the employees of the railway Company. This strike halted transportation in Vancouver, Victoria, and New Westminster. According to Masters (1973), The strikers demanded an eight-hour day, with pay ranging from forty cents per hour up to fifty-one cents, according to length of service. These strikes were just the beginning of the record of strikes in Western Canada that year. Other causes for the strike were the facts that while the manufacturing workers were becoming very wealthy, the employees were being paid very little and were being treated horribly. The prices of food and other daily necessities were increasing while their wages were still remaining extremely low, making it very hard to afford many things. At this time unemployment was extremely high, meaning
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