Worker's death a century ago 'highlights the many sacrifices that those unionized workers made when they stood up against oppression'
As Nova Scotians mark the 100th anniversary of Davis Day, labour leaders and advocates are reflecting on the sacrifices made by miners like William Davis, whose death helped shape worker safety and rights across Canada.
Davis’s death stands as a powerful reminder of the struggles workers faced to secure basic rights, said Danny Cavanagh, president of the Nova Scotia Federation of Labour.
“William Davis’s story highlights the many sacrifices that those unionized workers made when they stood up against oppression,” he said, according to a report from The Canadian Press (CP).
Even now, a century later, Cavanagh emphasized that the fight for safer working conditions and fair wages continues, pointing to ongoing challenges such as paid sick leave and living wages.
Bobby Burchell, a former miner and long-serving union executive, echoed the importance of Davis’s legacy in his remarks to CP.
Burchell, who has led Davis Day commemorations for 25 years, said that Davis and his fellow miners “made a big difference in the laws, not only for Nova Scotia but … for all of Canada.” Their fight led to reforms that improved safety standards, increased wages, and broke the grip of company control over miners’ daily lives.
The Canadian Labour Congress, which represents 3.3 million workers, also joined this year’s centennial commemoration, highlighting the national significance of Davis’s sacrifice. As CP notes, the annual event, also known as Miners’ Memorial Day, now honours more than 2,500 miners who have died in Nova Scotia since 1838.
Dispute between Cape Breton miners, BESCO
The deadly events that gave rise to Davis Day unfolded on June 11, 1925, amid a bitter labour dispute between Cape Breton miners and the British Empire Steel Corporation (BESCO), according to CP. At the time, miners worked under extremely hazardous conditions for low wages, while their lives were controlled by company-owned housing, stores, and medical services. Many families were deeply indebted, reliant on credit at company stores for food and essentials.
In early 1925, BESCO’s announcement of another wage cut prompted District 26 of the United Mine Workers of America to call a strike involving 12,000 miners. As the strike dragged on, BESCO cut off credit to the company stores and later shut off water and electricity to the miners’ homes, further deepening their hardship. Some families were forced to hunt wild game to survive, CP reported in the article posted in CTV News.
The confrontation turned deadly when miners and their families marched to the company’s power plant at Waterford Lake in an attempt to cut power to the mine. According to CP, they were met by dozens of armed special constables, many on horseback. When the crowd approached, company police opened fire. Accounts differ, but Davis was fatally shot—some reports say while reaching for a constable’s horse, others suggest he was struck by random gunfire. Several others were wounded or beaten during the clash.
Following the shooting, miners overran the company police and retaliated by looting and burning BESCO’s company stores. The violence marked the end of the company store system in Cape Breton, CP reported. Davis’s funeral was the largest ever held in New Waterford.
The federal government later launched an inquiry into the incident, and the use of armed special constables was widely condemned. As CP reports, the long struggle eventually led to the passage of Nova Scotia’s Trade Union Act in 1937, establishing stronger protections for workers’ rights and safety.
Though Nova Scotia’s coal mining industry has largely disappeared—with only one suspended underground mine at Donkin—labour advocates say Davis’s sacrifice continues to resonate. As Cavanagh told CP, “Even though we’ve come a long way, there’s still much work to do around occupational health and safety laws.”
