The yr was 1947 . World War II had come to an end , and nations across the world were rebuilding . For Canada , that meant a tax return to free market capitalism after years of government - mandated freezes on wages and the price of good and service . Looking to recuperate from nearly a decade of thin profit margins , troupe began to upgrade the price on everything from vegetables to machine , sending ostentation through the ceiling , and putting a crush on everyone ’s purse .
When child in the small town of Ladysmith , Vancouver Island , British Columbia wandered down to the Wigwam Café on April 25 , 1947 , they were surprised to find that the nickel note they ’d saved from their allowance account would no longer purchase the candy bar they craved . The price of chocolate had gone up 60 percentage , quite literally overnight , from 5 cents to 8 penny for a 3 - ounce candy car .
Rather than accept the terms increase , the kids make up one’s mind to do something about it . They hurriedly scrawled sign , and set about march up and down the street , sear an impromptu protest song :
Word spread quickly and presently nearly every kid in townspeople had joined the “ Chocolate Bar Strike . ”
After the local newspaper snapped a picture of the little objector in front of the Wigwam , kids across Canada get picket their own corner stores carry signal that register , “ What this state involve is a good 5 cent cake ! ” and “ Candy is not bad , but 8 cents is n’t handy ! ” One of the vainglorious protests take place on April 30 , when 200 kids marched on the steps of the British Columbia Capitol Building edifice , close down government business for the mean solar day . In Burnaby , traffic was clogged for two hours as kids paraded on their bicycles down a major thoroughfare . Ten kids blasting bugle led 60 classmates in a march on Ottawa ’s Parliament Hill . Five hundred sign - conduct student from three arena high school gathered at the Christie Pits Park in Toronto . The movement continued with extra dissent in Calgary , Edmonton , Winnipeg , Montreal , Quebec City , and throughout the Maritimes , with police being called out to break up the larger gathering . In all , over 3000 tyke were say to have signed assurance scorecard promising to boycott candy until the price was brought down . Within day , the sale of confect barroom in Canada had dropped 80 percent .
For the most part , adults fancy the Chocolate Bar Strike as an amusing but profound metaphor for their own struggle with the fresh post - war economy . Many grownup - led residential district organizations supported the candy smash by printing objection signaling and pledge carte , bring snacks for the kids on the frontlines , and by standing with the youngsters as they rallied against price gouging .
Naturally , candy troupe maintain the higher price , saying they too were feeling the pressure of post - war pretentiousness . For them , bare-assed materials such as milk , shekels , and cocoa bean processing had become more expensive since the government toll freezes had been lifted . They also tried to convince customers that they were simply following the American market , where candy averaged between 5 and 10 cents for the same size bar ; Canadian kid had it proficient at only 8 centime .
The campaign carry on to gain impulse until May 3 , when a plan march on Toronto , meant to be the openhanded protestation yet , was thwarted by a story in theToronto Evening Telegram . An anon. source had informed the paper that the entire candy strike was being orchestrated by the National Federation of Labour Youth ( NFLY ) , an administration that helped found Labour Party unions in Canada . While they were one of many groups to support the shaver , NFLY had member affiliated with the Communist Party , which head the ultra - conservativeTelegramto purport they were nothing more than a front for Moscow :
The paper claim that NFLY was recruiting from the membership of the Kid , as well as using the nestling to further their own communistic agenda . In a 2003 interview , NFLY Colorado - laminitis Bill Stewart refuted these claim ; the group plainly wanted to further kids to speak out when they felt they ’d been wrong .
Whether these allegations were unfeigned or not , the confect boycott was now paint red . Wary of being labeled “ Communist , ” supportive organization disowned the smasher , and parents forbade their children from look any further protests . The candy ten-strike fizzled , and the price of a chocolate measure remained 8 cents .
InThe Five Cent War , a documentary film about the candy tap , surviving members of the original Ladysmith dissenter were interviewed about their part in the 1947 boycott . Everyone concord that communism was the furthest thing from their young minds . All they wanted was for their voices to be heard , and to keep a small more allowance account in their pockets .
