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Unifor regional directors took the stage second day of Unifor’s 2025 Constitutional Convention in Vancouver to deliver their reports, sharing victories and struggles over the past three years.
Daniel Cloutier, who was recently elected Unifor Quebec Director for a second term, thanked the union’s leadership, staff and members for entrusting him for continuing to lead and carrying Unifor’s future vision from Quebec to every region.
“I pledge to represent Quebec with passion, and to work with solidarity for the strength of the union,” he said.
Cloutier highlighted the victory of achieving federal anti-scab legislation – a fundamental protection workers demanded for decades.
“But this historic gain was tarnished by the shameless use of Article 107 of the Canada Labour Code by the federal government at Canada Post, on the railways, in Canadian ports, and just last week at Air Canada,” he said.
“In Quebec, it’s a similar story to Bill 89, which now provides the same powers to end a labor dispute and send the parties to arbitration, in all sectors, both public and private. I’m telling you, the fight for the right to strike is not over.”
Cloutier also drew attention to the struggles in the forestry industry – including forest fires and the softwood lumber tariff dispute, – and criticized the U.S.’s hiatus on certain energy transition projects.
“Such a pause can only be temporary, because the climate crisis won’t wait, and because the rest of the planet continues to move forward,” he said.
“We will demand that workers in traditional sectors be supported, retrained, and protected. We will push for new sectors—batteries, renewable energies, public transit—to become real sources of unionized jobs.”
Aligning with its values to support world peace, Unifor awarded its highest honour, the Nelson Mandela Award, to the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate in recognition of media workers’ dangerous and unrelenting coverage of the conflict in Gaza.
“I would like to talk from my heart to your hearts,” said Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate President Naser Abubaker at the podium.
“They are under fire daily, every minute, every day. So far, we lost 246 journalists in occupation, killed in Gaza. In beloved Gaza, we are under the genocide. All of Palestinian people are. I feel hope because we are feeling not alone because of your solidarity… [The war] is killing the freedom of media. It’s killing the principles of human rights.”
Unifor members stood with Abubaker following adjournment of the day, holding photocopied signs that read, “Stop killing journalists.”
In his report, Unifor Western Regional Director Gavin McGarrigle blasted BC Transit and the B.C. government for its inaction of the ongoing Transdev strike, where members have been on the picket line for nearly 200 days over the continued reliance on private transit contractors and the huge gaps in pay and benefits that result.
“Unifor helped achieve contract flipping protection for transit workers in 2018, and transit workers have been fighting back ever since while the government does nothing,” he said.
“We’ve had four long strikes in three years affecting tens of thousands of residents. This is now the longest transit strike in B.C. history by far and we continue to stand behind all the transit workers in their struggle for a fair agreement so please be generous and support them.”
Unifor celebrated a big win recently when the B.C. Labour Relations Board sided with the union and awarded them union certification to the workers at the Amazon facility in Delta. B.C., McGarrigle said, a journey which first began in 2023 with organizing those warehouse workers.
“In July of this year, the labour board found that Amazon’s interference in our union drive was so bad that it completely undermined the process,” he said.
“We have scaled up efforts at other Amazon facilities and we are not going to stop until we achieve that first collective agreement that Amazon workers so desperately need. This was a team effort proving that when we unite and work hard, there is no limit to what we can achieve in organizing and that no employer is untouchable.”
We are in a moment of great change—and big fights ahead, said Unifor Ontario Regional Director Samia Hashi, as Canada faces the anxiety and uncertainty of the Trump administration’s tariffs war.
“We also have proof of what happens when governments invest in Canadian jobs. Just last week, we celebrated the long-awaited announcement that Alstom’s Thunder Bay plant will build 70 new TTC subway trains thanks to our work in demanding all three levels of government into action,” she said.
“This investment secures hundreds of good jobs for our Local 1075 members and shows exactly why made-in-Canada procurement and strong industrial strategy matter. When the U.S. turned its back on us. And when companies think they can play politics with our jobs, we don’t flinch.”
Hashi called for the Doug Ford government to address the staffing crisis in a crumbling public health care system, which requires significant funding.
“We’re seeing it in hospitals. In long-term care. In retirement homes. The system is stretched thin. And its workers and patients who are paying the price,” said Hashi.
Unifor Atlantic Region Director Jennifer Murray proudly showcased the recent work around Intimate Partner Violence in the east coast, including the first-ever symposium in New Brunswick.
“We heard stories. Stories of women who had been victims but are now survivors. Stories of escape, of rebuilding, stories of resilience,” said Murray, pointing out that just days after the symposium, the New Brunswick legislature passed that (IPV) bill in just 10 minutes.
Since then, the New Brunswick government announced it would be adding $9.2 million to support emergency shelters, transition and second-stage housing, IPV outreach programs and to ensure reasonable wages for staff.
“We are winning for women by demanding governments recognize that they have a role to play in ending violence and never accepting no for an answer. But our governments can continue to say ‘No,’ and we will continue to push,” said Murray.
Murray reflected on her first term as Atlantic Regional Director, which she admitted she felt unprepared for, but made the decision to swim rather than sink. In her role, she has seen how Unifor’s solidarity and political action can propel change – including the exit of N.B. Conservative Premier Blaine Higgs.
“Here is the truth, none of us in this room have learned to swim by watching from the shore,” she said.
“We grow from discomfort. It is this very test that challenges us and ultimately shapes us. We grow when we realize that even steps backwards are part of the dance.”
Later that afternoon, Unifor National President Lana Payne paid tribute to labour leader Buzz Hargrove, who passed away in June at 81. The room stood and held a moment of silence.
“Buzz Hargrove was a towering figure in Canadian labour—a leader whose strength, conviction, and unwavering commitment to social justice helped shape the union we are today,” said Payne.
“From the shop floor in Windsor to boardrooms and bargaining tables across the country, Buzz carried the voice of workers with him. He never backed down from a fight, and he never forgot where he came from. His legacy lives on in every collective agreement, every campaign for fairness, and every activist he mentored. Buzz was truly one-of-a-kind.”
Delegates also heard from those who walked alongside Buzz in the movement with tributes as Jim O’Neil, former CAW National Secretary-Treasurer, Jean-Michel Montiel, vice-president of Quebec Retired Workers Council, Peter Kennedy, former National Secretary-Treasurer for the CAWand Unifor, and Ken Lewenza, former CAW National President, shared memories and reflections on his remarkable legacy.
"We are the most progressive union in this world and that is the legacy of Buzz Hargrove. He gives us the inspiration to move forward,” Lewenza said.
