The Murdochville strike was a mining strike on March 10, 1957, in Quebec, during the regime of Quebec premier

Maurice Duplessis Maurice Le Noblet Duplessis (; April 20, 1890 – September 7, 1959), was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 16th premier of Quebec. A conservative, nationalist, anti-Communist, anti-unionist and fervent Catholic, he and his ...

. It provided the impetus and inspiration for other labour leaders to emerge and future calls for labour rights to become vocalized. One thousand copper miners struck at the Gaspé Copper Mines in

Murdochville, Quebec Murdochville is a town in Quebec, Canada, one of only a few inland communities on the Gaspé Peninsula. Its population (as of 2016) is 651. Murdochville is located along Quebec Route 198 in the geographic township of Holland, south of L'Ans ...

, acquired by mining company Noranda only two years earlier. (Murdochville was named for Noranda executive James Y. Murdoch.) It was publicly supported by

Pierre Trudeau Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau ( , ; October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000), also referred to by his initials PET, was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada The prime mini ...

who, as a lawyer in 1957, stated on CBC television that the strikers needed the "whole force of public opinion" in order to win in their efforts. Trudeau called the Murdochville strike a "fight for recognition" and advocated for all trade unions throughout Quebec to show their solidarity and the economic influence they collectively possessed. The strike failed and was called off in October. Duplessis's labour laws and action against strikers here and in the 1949

Asbestos strike The Asbestos strike of 1949, based in and around the town of Asbestos, Quebec, Canada, was a four-month labour dispute by asbestos miners. It has traditionally been portrayed as a turning point in Quebec history that helped lead to the Quiet Rev ...

have been cited by individuals such as

Pierre Vallières Pierre Vallières ( – ) was a Québécois journalist and writer, known as an intellectual leader of the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ). He was the author of the essay ''Nègres blancs d'Amérique'', translated as ''White Niggers of Am ...

as providing catalyst for the development of his own social and political consciousness and actions.

References

{{Notable labour disputes in Canada Labour disputes in Quebec 1957 labor disputes and strikes Miners' labour disputes in Canada 1957 in Quebec