On this day 92 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 across the province gathered at Edmonton’s Market Square off 99th Street and 102nd Avenue to protest unemployment and poverty brought on by the Great Depression.
The hunger marchers made up a crowd between 4,000 and 10,000 strong, though some claim the protest was as large as 12,000. Albertans of all kinds participated in the protest, brought together by the economic conditions, left-wing beliefs, and hope for change.
On the other side of the square were the combined forces of the Edmonton Police Department and RCMP, intent on enforcing a parade ban issued by Edmonton City Council, the Police Chief Constable, and the Premier of Alberta.
Edmonton Journal/Newspapers.com
The march culminated in a bloody fight between protesters and police, followed by police raids of local labour organizations and attempts to stamp out future protests.
Conditions in Alberta in 1932
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%, according to an article by Forgotten Edmonton.
The value of farmland had dropped by 40%, and nationwide unemployment rose to 30%. In comparison, Canada’s unemployment rate today is 6.8%.
With conditions worsening countrywide, various levels of government were pressured to provide relief to Canadians. However, the buck was passed as the municipal, provincial, and Dominion governments squabbled over whose responsibility it was — or whether they could even provide relief to the public.
The challenging conditions Albertans experienced during this time ultimately gave way to an uprising.
Provincial Archives of Alberta no. A9214
The marchers
The conditions 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 Temple supported Ukrainian immigrants and farmers in Canada, providing dance, theatre, and musical lessons in addition to Ukrainian and English lessons for newcomers.
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 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 ban on the protest didn’t stop marchers from gathering at Market Square, and a passionate speech was delivered by former farm labourer Andrew Irvine, 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!” Irvine said as police encroached on the square.
He 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 between police and protesters heated up as the Hunger March began. As marchers turned the corner on 101A Avenue Street, they were met by RCMP officers on horseback.
At 3:05 pm, a clash broke out between police and protesters.
Panicked and afraid, the unemployed and hungry Albertans picked up what they could to defend themselves. Gravel from Market Square, branches from Christmas trees at a local sale, and pieces of firewood were used by marchers as weapons in the melee.
Provincial Archives of Alberta no. A9214
For eight minutes straight, marchers and police battled. 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 battle.
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 a bloody result, some marchers continued 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 for better conditions were “utterly beyond the ability of the provincial government, even if they were just or right.”
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.
During World War II, the Canadian outlawed the Ukrainian Labour Temple.
“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.