More than 3,000 people are expected to walk in this year's Labour Day parade in Sarnia.
This year's theme is "Strong hands, strong hearts, strong unions."
"The theme was chosen by a 10-year-old, the daughter of one of our members, out of UA 663, and we went with it because we are getting stronger in terms of advocacy work. I think we're all feeling sort of united as Canadians, and unions are certainly part of our fabric," said Sarnia and District Labour Council spokesperson Arlene Patterson.
The annual Labour Day parade is to show support and solidarity with workers and unions. The parade will feature many groups from the community.
"We also have the Sarnia street machines; they always put in antique cars," said Patterson. "Each of the larger unions will have a flatbed for their retirees. So we're saying five, six major unions, and some of those unions have 400 marchers in their units, so it's a sizable amount of people to kind of thread through a needle of Davis and Christina Street."
This year's parade route starts at the corner of Front Street and Davis Street and heads north on Front Street to Centennial Park.
The celebration of labour is similar to previous years; however, it focuses on how Canadian workers are impacted by economic uncertainty due to the current trade war.
"The respect that we have for our skilled tradespeople. They are world-renowned and continue to be that. So we do have certainly a sense of pride in our workers, whether they be from the trades, within the plants, whether they be in our public service, healthcare and education. You know, workers need to be honoured," she said.
The parade begins at 9:30 a.m. on Monday, September 7.
Trophies will be awarded for the best union float, best band, best commercial entry, best non-commercial entry and a new trophy has been added called the "Spirit Trophy".
