Organized Labor and Casino Politics in Toronto

This chapter examines labor's role in a public battle over the siting of a casino in Toronto, which played out among different levels of government, real estate developers, casino corporations, and anti-casino community groups. While labor support for a new downtown casino was contingent and fragmented, it remains a fact that significant unions were strongly behind development, and even public sector unions that opposed it in the later stages of the debate had some contradictory interests. When capital and the state consider divisive development proposals, there is greater opportunity for actors such as labor and community groups to be deciding factors. Yet such opportunities to shape municipal politics and development still require discipline and solid strategy. It is not only the loss of casino and construction jobs for some unions that is relevant here, but also the failure of local organized labor to exercise power in a decisive manner at a moment when the opportunity presented itself.