What was the Nine Hours Movement?

In Canada in the late 1800s, the Nine Hours Movement campaigned for a working day of nine hours instead of the more usual eleven or twelve hours. Strikes were held in 1872 in support of the movement.

In Toronto, printers, who were members of the Typographical Society, joined the action. George Brown, editor of the Globe newspaper, opposed the printers. Brown warned the printers’ wives that the strike was bad because the men would become a nuisance at home.

Following a large demonstration in Toronto on April 15, 1872, all twenty-four members of the Toronto Printers’ Vigilance (strike) committee were arrested. The printers were charged with criminal conspiracy.

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