PRIME Minister Mark Carney on Monday said in a statement on Labour Day:

“On Labour Day, we honour the strength and resilience of Canadian workers, and we celebrate the women and men building Canada’s future.

“Canada’s unions have long stood on the principle that what we wish for ourselves, we wish for all, demanding fairness and dignity for workers. The foundations of shared prosperity and a fairer economy that benefits everyone – including minimum wages, weekends, safe workplaces, and workers’ benefits – were built and fought for by unions.

“In a rapidly shifting global landscape, Canada’s new government is working with unions to ensure workers have the skills, support, and opportunities they need to succeed. We are building Canada strong, and workers are at the heart of this mission. Together with organized labour, Canada’s new government is focused on creating not only jobs, but high-paying careers with sustained opportunity and prosperity.”

PREMIER David Eby said: “Working people power the success of our province: farm workers, flight attendants, retail workers, clerks, custodians, truckers, teacher’s aides, first responders and so many others. In British Columbia, people are the economy.

“Today, we celebrate the incredible contributions of workers and the labour movement. Labour Day is an opportunity to remember that organized labour fought for – and won – many of the employment rights we enjoy today, such as maternity and parental leave, overtime pay and workplace safety standards.

“Our government is committed to making life easier for workers in this province. In just this past year, we increased minimum wage to $17.85 an hour, the highest of all the provinces in Canada. In April, we made changes to the Employment Standards Act that will eliminate the need for workers to get sick notes for short-term absences from work.

“That builds on our collective achievements, which include protecting workers with paid sick leave, returning thousands of health-services workers to the public system, and cutting child care bills by half or more for many working parents.

“In partnership with the labour movement, we introduced up to five days of paid leave per year for workers facing domestic or sexual violence and brought in pay transparency legislation to help close the gender pay gap. We made it mandatory for employers at construction sites with 25 workers or more to provide flush toilets, hand-washing facilities and clean washrooms, and we provided basic protections and minimum-wage measures for app-based ride-hailing and delivery workers.

“Democracies are built by the strength of workers. We give thanks to the working people of B.C. for their dedication to making our province a better and more prosperous place to live and work.”

“Happy Labour Day!”

Jennifer Whiteside, Minister of Labour, said: “This Labour Day, I’m reflecting on the incredible contributions of workers throughout our province. As Minister of Labour, I’m honoured to stand with working people and help protect the hard-won progress made by unions and the labour movement. Together, we’re building safer workplaces and a stronger future for everyone in B.C.”

FEDERAL NDP Leader Don Davies said: This Labour Day takes place at a critical time for Canada’s workers, who are facing an unprecedented attack on their jobs and on their communities from Donald Trump’s tariffs.

“New Democrats will continue to press Prime Minister Mark Carney to put workers first. That includes investing in strong public services and in the workers who deliver them. It includes building more of what we need here – from affordable homes to community infrastructure – and creating good-paying union jobs in the process. And it means tackling the cost-of-living crisis, including by expanding pharmacare to more provinces so that more Canadians can benefit.

“On Labour Day we are especially reminding workers that Liberal and Conservative governments have consistently violated their Charter rights by interfering in the collective bargaining process. New Democrats will always stand up for full freedom of association, strong unions and free collective bargaining.

“Unions built this country. New Democrats know that a strong labour movement means strong communities and a strong economy.

“This Labour Day, New Democrats are proud to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Canadian workers. The fight for Canadian workers is more important than ever.”