Canada, A Working History

Notable for its detail and human scale ... {Canada, A Working History] looks at current trends and what they might portend for the future of work in Canada. * Winnipeg Free Press *
Canada, A Working History is a refreshing take on Canadian history. By focusing on workers and their battles — rather than on the elite running the country — historian Jason Russell tells the story of Canada in a way that is both enlightening and engaging. * Linda McQuaig, author of The Sport and Prey of Capitalists *
Balanced, informative, and insightful, Jason Russell’s Canada: A Working History, provides a comprehensive and compelling survey of the contours of work in Canada from before the colonialist period to the COVID-19 pandemic. The scope and depth of Russell’s work provides anyone interested in understanding the evolution of work in Canada with a narrative that captures the tremendous historical challenges and accomplishments of working Canadians. Accessibly written at a crisp pace and with an engaging style, Canada: A Working History, helps 21st Century Canadians understand the roots of working people’s current predicaments and possibilities — from deindustrialization and precarity to revitalized worker activism and renewed optimism about the future of work in Canada. * Dimitry Anastakis, author of Re-Creation, Fragmentation and Resilience: A Brief History of Canada Since 1945 *
Jason Russell offers a fresh and insightful new survey of the history of work in Canada. The book's ambition is remarkable: readers get a grounding in the broad landscape of Canadian history starting from European colonization, and a keen understanding of the repeated transformations of the world of work up to the present. His analysis considers a range of complex social, economic, and political forces shaping work in Canada, including workers' efforts to organize themselves, yet his accessible prose makes the book an enjoyable read for anyone interested in labour and history. * David Goutor, author of Guarding the Gates: The Canadian Labour Movement and Immigration, 1872-1934 *
From precolonial history (including essential discussions of colonialism and slavery) through to the present-day challenges of technological surveillance of workers, Canada, A Working History is a comprehensive overview of the history of work in what is now Canada. Jason Russell takes care to move beyond a focus on union organizations to include the role of the state, the demands of capital, and the portrayals of labour in various media. Significantly, Russell’s definition of work is not limited to paid labour, which allows him to pay much needed attention to the essential roles of women workers both domestically and outside the home. Canada, A Working History is a useful synopsis for any and all Canadian workers. * Janis Thiessen, author of Snacks: A Canadian Food History *

The strength of this book is its comprehensive coverage of Canadian history, comprising the full span of history for what became modern Canada... Cast’s light on the experience of ordinary people, rather than the rich and famous,

* Business History *
An excellent resource, especially for popular readers or as a textbook for early-year undergraduate courses, Canada: A Working History uses changing conceptions of work, working-class experiences, and moments of class-based resistance to illustrate how these factors have shaped and influenced our readings of the country’s past. * Labour/Le Travail journal *