he labour movement made few gains between 1919 and 1945. Canada's poor economy meant workers had little leverage to bargain with their employers, and attempts to strike or march for recognition were often met with physical force. It was during these dark years that a number of new labour organizations laid their foundations, including the Workers' Unity League, the Committee for Industrial Organizing, the Canadian Labour Congress and the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, and provided the labour movement with new voices - voices that would make themselves heard in the years following the war.