Oshawa, Ont, City, inc 1924, pop 134 364 (1996c) 129 344 (1991c), is located 52 km east of Toronto on Lake Ontario. Originally called Skae's Corners, its present name is an OJIBWA term whose exact meaning is disputed, though "portage" is a common choice. In 1974 Oshawa became part of the newly formed Regional Municipality of Durham.

Its initial function as a transportation centre was based on its excellent harbour, good road connections and the GRAND TRUNK RAILWAY, which in 1856 was completed from Toronto to Montréal. Manufacturing soon took precedence. Especially notable was the Oshawa Manufacturing Company, owned by Joseph Hall, who developed it into the largest producer of agricultural implements in Canada.

The dominant manufacturer was to become McLaughlin Carriage Works, developer of the McLaughlin-Buick automobile. In 1918 the McLaughlin Motor Car Company and the Chevrolet Motor Car Company of Canada were merged into GENERAL MOTORS OF CANADA LTD (GM) with local entrepreneur Robert S. "Colonel Sam" MCLAUGHLIN as president.

In the years that followed, GM became the dominant employer, but after several years of poor labour relations, it was the target of a major strike. GM workers certified the United Automobile Workers (UAW), an industrial union affiliated with the American-based Committee for Industrial Organization (CIO; later Congress of Industrial Organization). Much to the chagrin of Ontario's premier, Mitchell HEPBURN, who hoped the UAW would lose the strike, the union, despite the use of special police, established itself as a force in Canadian labour .