Crowsnest Pass Strike 1932

This 7-month strike, involving all but one mine in Alberta's CROWSNEST PASS, was the most bitter strike in the region's turbulent history. It began in Coleman in January 1932 with demands that companies divide available work in the depressed coal-mining industry equally among miners rather than playing favourites. Coal companies refused to deal with the workers' militant union, the Mine Workers' Union of Canada, and showdowns between the coal operators and the MWUC caused the strike to spread through the Pass. The RCMP were required to separate strikers and "scabs" and numerous confrontations came to pass. However, while the strikers' demands were not met, the strike left a left-wing legacy in the Pass because of resentment against the companies, the RCMP and provincial authorities. From 1933 to 1939, the coal-mining town of Blairmore elected a "Red" town council.