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Unifor members, trade union activists and cinephiles alike packed a Toronto movie theatre on October 5 for the 40th anniversary screening of Final Offer, one of the most consequential documentaries in Canadian labour history.
The free screening was co-presented by Unifor, Hot Docs, the Ageless International Film Festival, and the National Film Board of Canada.
“Forty years later, Final Offer is just as relevant as ever. It’s an incredible part of our history – we were in the presence of giants today as we watched them on the screen,” said Unifor National President Lana Payne.
“It reminds us that Canadian workers have always had to fight to protect our jobs and our standards from pressures coming from across the border. The courage shown by Bob White and the CAW still inspires unions and workers today.”
Over the course of the film’s 79-minute runtime, audience members were transported back to 1984, inside smoke-filled meeting rooms, listening to frank and often expletive-laden shop floor talk, watching unyielding union negotiators moving deftly through the hallways of the old Royal York hotel in Toronto.
The film’s defining moment came when Bob White, then Canadian Director of the UAW (United Auto Workers), and his bargaining committee split bargaining strategies from their U.S.-dominated union led by Owen Bieber. Bieber pushes for the removal of annual wage increases in favour of lump sum payments and pattern bargaining across the border, while White resists, insisting that Canadian autoworkers have different conditions and should not be locked into U.S. decisions.
The split ultimately led to the formation of the independent Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) union, one of Unifor’s founding organizations.
The film still manages to stir deep emotion and inspire, especially in the moment when Bob White declares, “I’ll wrap the Canadian flag around me…I may get grey hair, but I’ll get it fighting the goddamn corporation.”
Directed by Icelandic-Canadian filmmaker Sturla Gunnarsson, Final Offer is often described as one of the most important Canadian documentaries ever created. The unprecedented access given to the National Film Board’s production crew gives viewers a rare glimpse into the raw, sincere, sometimes humourous, but always realistic details. The results feel closer to a political thriller than a documentary. Final Offer’s accolades bear this reputation out, having won numerous national and international awards with Cinema Canada labeling the film as “one of the most compelling documentaries ever made in this country.”
In the film’s 1984 environment, the conflict was between Canadian autoworkers, General Motors and the UAW’s American leadership. In 2025, the stage may be larger, but the script is similar: U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods, American attempts to dictate the terms of cross-border production, and Canadian workers once again standing at the fault line between national sovereignty and American corporate power.
Following the screening came a panel discussion featuring Unifor National President Lana Payne, Unifor Auto Council Chairperson John D’Agnolo and filmmaker Sturia Gunnarsson, moderated by Arden R. Ryshpan, a veteran cultural leader and labour advocate who has held senior roles at ACTRA, the National Film Board of Canada, and the Directors Guild of Canada.
Throughout the discussion, it became clear what Final Offer shows Canadian audiences: that Canadians can seize their agency even while living in the shadow of America’s economic dominance.
“Without culture we are just part of the American economy. We have to be resolute and pay attention and support our union and we have to make art – we have to respond as artists. A country like Canada won’t survive without a story,” said Gunnarsson.
D’Agnolo spoke to the most recent round of Detroit Three Auto Bargaining in 2023, when Unifor and the UAW bargained simultaneously with the companies.
“The choice was do we wait for them to make a decision or as Canadians do we make our own decision, and we decided to make our own decision and the UAW followed us.”
In response to the U.S. government’s imposition of a 25% tariff on Canadian-made vehicles, D’Agnolo called on the federal government to reject any acceptance of auto tariffs that threaten Canadian jobs.
“We have to continue to lobby the government on no tariffs because once we open that door it won’t close. If they put tariffs on the line then we are going to lose a lot of jobs in our communities,” said D’Agnolo.
Forty years on, Final Offer continues to resonate not because it looks back, but because it insists we look forward. It is a film about a moment when Canadian workers bent history to their will and a stark reminder that the same courage will be needed again in an age where Canadian sovereignty and survival are still on the line.
"The story of Final Offer isn’t just history—it’s a roadmap. As Canadian workers face new pressures from U.S. trade policies, the film reminds us that defending our jobs is a fight we must take on, generation after generation," said Payne.
