The On-to-Ottawa Trek was initiated in 1935, during the grim years of the Great Depression, as thousands of unemployed workers sought fair treatment and demands for jobs and better working conditions. They began their journey from British Columbia to Ottawa, believing that direct action could prompt the government to address the economic crisis facing many Canadians. As the trekkers arrived in Regina, the Saskatchewan capital, they set up a camp in a park, intending to continue their march to the nation’s capital.

Tensions between the trekkers and the government escalated significantly leading to the first of July confrontation. The local authorities, led by the Regina police and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, saw the gathering as a threat to social order and planned to intervene preemptively. Early in the morning, armed police surrounded the camp, demanding the protesters disband. Conflict erupted as many protesters refused to yield, leading to a violent clash. Fists were thrown, and law enforcement used clubs and gunfire to disperse the crowd, resulting in injuries and several arrests.

The ambush unfolded as an iconic moment in Canadian labor history, symbolizing the struggle of workers during the Great Depression. It marked a point of no return for many participants in the On-to-Ottawa Trek, as police brutality became a rallying point for labor movements across Canada. Following the ambush, the trekkers were largely unable to continue their journey, but their demands for social justice and workers' rights gained national attention, culminating in several reform efforts in labor policies and employment practices in the years that followed.