[1] This marked Canada's first national attempt at a labour movement, pushing for the nine-hour work day which united both unionized and non-unionized workers alike.
The movement came to its height in May 1872 when a collective force of 1,500 workers demonstrated in Hamilton in a parade-style fashion, which is coined as being the precursor to the traditional holiday of Canada's Labour Day.
The movement was an overall failure, as it failed to deliver the nine-hour work day to most workforces and industries, but made a major mark in labour relations in Canada.
Despite its defeat, the movement created a unified protest and fueled workers to fight to secure rights through legal measures of labour law.
[2] Three prominent reasons for the failure of the Nine-Hour Movement were employer hostility and resistance, the waning prosperity of various industries, and significant divisions in the labour force (ex.