This volume investigates the evolution of the Canadian labor movement and the socioeconomic conditions of the working class throughout the twentieth century. Editors Irving M. Abella and David Millar compile a comprehensive collection of primary source documents, essays, and historical records to analyze the shifting landscape of industrial relations. The work provides a structured framework for understanding how legislative changes, economic fluctuations, and social movements shaped the lives of Canadian laborers from the early 1900s through the late twentieth century.

Historians and labor scholars frequently cite this collection as a foundational resource for understanding the development of Canadian industrial relations. Readers often note the academic density of the primary source material, which serves as a vital reference for students and researchers of Canadian social history.