Nearly one in three workers in Canada is covered by a union contract, making union members a potentially powerful voting bloc at election time. It should therefore come as little surprise that federal parties have been making overt efforts to secure endorsements from labour unions and the votes of their members as election day nears.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees, United Steelworkers and Amalgamated Transit Union have already declared support for the New Democratic Party (NDP), while the Boilermakers union has endorsed the Conservatives. All parties are expected to pick up more union endorsements before election day.
But do union endorsements actually make a difference at the ballot box?
