Labour Day 2025

Migrante Canada Statement

September 1, 2025

This Labour Day, let us remember what we are marking and celebrating: the power of workers. It is the workers that power this country -- from our hospital wards, grocery aisles, classrooms, construction sites, and factory floors. Workers deserve respect and dignity in our workplaces, regardless of their immigration status.

But for too many, the past few years have brought more uncertainty than celebration. A worsening housing crisis, rising costs, and insecure jobs are making life harder for working families. While corporations post record profits and raise prices, our public services are under attack, and governments are failing to act. Workers are doing everything right—yet still falling behind.

Among those most exploited are migrant and undocumented workers, who keep Canada’s economy running but are denied basic rights and protections. They form part of the Canadian workforce, yet are made invisible by their status. This Labour Day, Migrante Canada calls for regularization program that puts an end to detentions and deportations, and granting of open work permits and equal labour rights. Because when migrant workers are empowered, all workers benefit, and our communities thrive.

Our struggles here are inseparable from those back home in the Philippines, where workers face contractualization, low wages, and state repression. Millions of Filipinos are forced to migrate abroad because of poverty and a government that fails to uphold genuine national sovereignty. That is why our fight is both here and there: for justice, dignity, and decent work across borders.

This Labour Day, let us send a clear message: when workers stand together, we don’t just make Canada strong—we build workers’ power everywhere. Only through collective struggle can we win the future workers deserve.##