The "wildest disorder in Edmonton's history" took place 91 years ago today
On this day, 91 years ago, the Edmonton Hunger March occurred, resulting in what the then-Edmonton police chief described as the “wildest disorder in the city’s history.”
In the afternoon of December 20, 1932, more than 10,000 Edmontonians and Albertans from various corners of the province gathered at Edmonton’s Market Square off 99th Street and 102 Avenue to protest unemployment and poverty brought on by the Great Depression.
The hunger marchers comprised a crowd of between four and ten thousand, though some sources claim the protest was as large as 12,000. Albertans of all kinds made up the protest, brought together by the economic conditions, left-wing beliefs, and a desire for change.
On the other side of the square were the combined forces of the Edmonton Police Department and RCMP, who were intent on enforcing a parade ban issued by Edmonton city council, the City’s Chief Constable, and the Premier of Alberta.
The march culminated in a bloody fight between protesters and police, followed by police raids of local labour organizations and attempts to snuff out future protests.
Edmonton Journal/Newspapers.com
Conditions in Alberta in 1932
During the Great Depression, things were not going well for many people in Alberta.
Following the stock market crash of October 1929, Canada’s gross national product fell by a whopping 75%. In Alberta, personal income plunged by 48% while farm wages sunk by 50%, an article by Forgotten Edmonton states.
The value of farmland had dropped by 40%, and nationwide unemployment rose to 30%. Compare that to today, where unemployment is around 5.7%, according to Statistics Canada.
As conditions worsened countrywide, various levels of government were pressured to provide relief to Canadians, but the buck was passed as the municipal, provincial, and Dominion squabbled over whose responsibility it was — or whether they could even provide relief to the public — a classic Canadian tale!
The economic conditions, however, ultimately gave way to an uprising.
Provincial Archives of Alberta no. A9214
The marchers
Conditions created by the Depression gave way to “scathing” critiques of capitalism, with many seeking out alternative systems. The left, comprising trade unionists, socialists, and communists, saw a significant upswing in political support from members of the public.
One group that played a major role in the Edmonton Hunger March was the Ukrainian Labour Temple. The organization, which began with its first branch in Winnipeg, supported Ukrainian immigrants and farmers in Canada, providing dance, theatre, and musical lessons in addition to Ukrainian and English lessons for newcomers.
While not the organizer of the march, the Labour Temple served as the headquarters of the protest, providing food and shelter for farmers from across the province who had arrived in Edmonton for the march.
“Thousands came in, farmers, especially from throughout Alberta, so they were fed, and they slept at our old Labour Temple,” said Alex Boykowich, president of the Association of the United Ukrainian Canadians, the continuation of the now-defunct Ukrainian Labour Temple Association.
“Ukrainian-Canadians played a major role in the leadership of the march and the preparation of the march, for sure.”
Ukrainian Labour Temple, Provincial Archives of Alberta no. G3078
The march
A parade ban didn’t stop protesters from gathering at Market Square, and a passionate speech was delivered by Andrew Irvine, a former farm labourer who had become radicalized by the onset of the Great Depression.
“There is no law in Canada that can prevent us from peacefully walking along the sidewalk!”
Despite police encroaching on the space, Irvine encouraged marchers to carry on.
“We don’t want violence, and I want you to refrain from violence,” Irvine was quoted saying.
“If there’s any violence, let it be the police who start it.”
Provincial Archives of Alberta no. A2918
“Workers of the world, unite!” marchers shouted.
Tensions continued to flare, and as the Hunger March began, they turned the corner on 101A Avenue Street, where RCMP officers met marchers on horseback.
At 3:05 pm, a clash broke out between police and protesters.
Panicked and afraid, Alberta’s hungry and unemployed picked up what they could to defend themselves. This included gravel from Market Square, branches from Christmas trees at a local sale, and pieces of firewood.
Provincial Archives of Alberta no. A9214
For eight minutes straight, marchers and police battled each other. The Edmonton Journal described a scene where several demonstrators “fell to the pavement under well-directed blows from nightsticks.”
“Several of those injured by blows from the police clubs hurried over to the McLeod Building with blood streaming down their faces to get medical attention.”
Though violent, the Journal also depicted an amusing scene of Santa Claus being caught up in the melee.
Edmonton Journal/Newspapers.com
The worst of the fighting died by 3:15, though brawls reportedly continued until around 4:30 pm. Chief Constable Shute later described the scene as “the wildest disorder in the city’s history.”
Thankfully, there were no deaths as a result of the brawl, and no one was seriously injured.
The aftermath
Despite the brawl, some marchers made their way to the Alberta legislature, where Premier John Brownlee showed no compassion to the marchers’ or their demands.
Forgotten Edmonton
Brownlee told the group that their demands were “utterly beyond the ability of the provincial government, even if they are all just or right,” adding that “Communist propaganda” was behind many of their demands.
He concluded, the Journal wrote, telling protesters “what the Alberta government is undertaking in the way of unemployment relief and in meeting the debtor and creditor situation throughout the province.”
Forgotten Edmonton writes that the marchers didn’t assume the Premier would meet all of their demands. Still, even suggestions like a minimum for struggling married couples and free school supplies for struggling families were outright opposed.
Unimpressed by their discussion with the Premier, the protesters returned to the Labour Temple.
The morning following the Edmonton Hunger March, a caravan of unmarked vans surrounded the Ukrainian Labour Temple.
Mounties and the Edmonton Police Department broke through the Labour Temple’s doors, clearing the room of 400 marchers, lining men up in front of the church building next door.
Detectives checked over the group, with a list of “prime agitators” of the march acting as a guiding document.
“There were 40 people arrested, and then eventually 27 was arrested, and at least a third of those were Ukrainian Canadians,” Boykowich said.
Postcard sold to raise funds for hunger marchers, arrested/Glenbow Museum Archives no. CU1103443
Unsatisfied by the result of the demonstration, the Edmonton Hunger March Committee began drafting plans for another one. However, undercover informants quickly tipped off the police.
In the early 1940’s, the Mackenzie King Government outlawed the Ukrainian Labour Temple.
The Ukrainian Labour Temple was outlawed by the government in the late 40s/early 50s by the William Lyon Mackenzie King government.
“It was because of World War II, and at that time, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union had a non-aggression pact. So when WWII started, it was between Britain and France on one side and Germany on the other side; the Soviet Union wasn’t a participant,” Boykowich explained.
That changed in 1941 following Germany’s invasion of the Soviet Union, which also altered domestic policy in Canada.
“So, when that war started, the Canadian government interned several Germans and Italians and their organizations and banned their organizations. And really, incredibly, they banned our Ukrainian organization, which had nothing to do [with it].”
“It was really an incredible miscarriage of justice.”
You can learn more about the Edmonton Hunger March on Forgotten Edmonton.
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