Hundreds of unionized employees took to the streets Monday morning for the annual Labour Day Parade.
It's been a tradition since 1872 and even today, it's going strong.
The day is about celebrating the victories of unions over the last year.
"It's important to march on Labour Day to show our support for labour," said Clint Crabtree, the president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 279, which represents OC Transpo drivers. "We have a big local here in Ottawa and we come out every year to show our support for Labour Day."
Labour Day is also a time to bring concerns to the forefront.
"If I'm going to say one thing: $15 minimum wage. You know what? Poor working people. They deserve some money. We've got to get that changed," said Peter Giuliani, the president of the local chapter of the Elementary Teacher's Federation of Ontario.
"Why is it continually important to defend workers' rights? Workers rights are human rights," said Larry Rousseau the regional executive vice president of the Public Service Alliance of Canada. "If we take it all together we have to remember that if it weren't for unions, we wouldn't even have this holiday this weekend, not to mention all our weekends. What we have to keep doing is making sure that we fight to maintain what we have because a lot of people are trying to roll back what we have, including pensions - defined benefit pensions - and others."
"It's a continual fight," added Rousseau. "Sometimes it's very frustrating to see what we're losing, but the only way we can keep what we have is to fight for what we have."
Among the marchers in this year's parade, a group calling for justice for Abdirahman Abdi, the Somali-Canadian man who died in July following a confrontation with police.
"It's a safe space for not only us as a labour movement, but also our community allies," said Hassan Husseini, the president of the Ottawa CUPE District Council. "It is our day, Labour Day, so that's why we're here."
"As a labour movement, we don't fight only for our members," he added. "We fight for everybody in society who is disadvantaged or discriminated against."
The annual Labour Day celebration was capped off with a free picnic at McNabb Park.