Throughout the First World War, Black groups and individuals also worked to manufacture essential goods at home, volunteered as labourers and in hospitals, and helped raise funds. Due to their willingness to support the country, Black women were often assigned the most dangerous tasks: working with explosives in ammunition factories (Randstad, 2021).
In the early 20th century black men were seen as a source of cheap and abundant labour. These porters did work that was often demeaning, under poor conditions (Randstad, 2021).
This led to improvements in the working conditions on the Canadian railway, with Canadian Pacific Rail agreeing to increase wages and offer more time off. The powerful actions of Black porters reflected the struggle of all Black workers in Canada, which began a movement for change (Randstad, 2021).