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History Post-confederation (1867-)

Guarding the Gates

The Canadian Labour Movement and Immigration, 1872-1934

by (author) David Goutor

Publisher
UBC Press
Initial publish date
Nov 2011
Category
Post-Confederation (1867-), Labor, Labor & Industrial Relations, Social History, General
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9780774840903
    Publish Date
    Nov 2011
    List Price
    $99.00
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9780774813655
    Publish Date
    Jan 2008
    List Price
    $34.95
  • Hardback

    ISBN
    9780774813648
    Publish Date
    May 2007
    List Price
    $95.00

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Description

From the 1870s until the Great Depression, immigration was often the question of the hour in Canada. Politicians, the media, and an array of interest groups viewed it as essential to nation building, developing the economy, and shaping Canada’s social and cultural character. One of the groups most determined to influence public debate and government policy on the issue was organized labour, and unionists were often relentless critics of immigrant recruitment. Guarding the Gates is the first detailed study of Canadian labour leaders’ approach to immigration, a key battleground in struggles between different political factions within the labour movement. This book provides new insights into labour, immigration, social, and political history.

About the author

David Goutor is assistant professor in the School of Labour Studies, McMaster University. He researches and teaches about working-class formation, union and leftist movements, immigration, and transnational migratory labour systems.

David Goutor's profile page

Editorial Reviews

David Goutor skilfully explores the meanings and consequences of organized labour’s opposition to wholesale recruitment of labour abroad and to different streams of immigration ... Goutor’s most significant contribution is to explore the relationship between labour’s attitudes to immigration and its ability to develop as an effective political force.

BC Studies, No. 155, Autumn 2007