In the Darkness of Winter: Canada’s Night Workers Through History

Tracing the path from Indigenous torchlight ishing to modern healthcare heroes working in the December chill

Dec 22, 2024

*Image attribution: PickPik.com, royalty-free image*

Working Through the Dark: Canadians on the Night Shift in December

If you’ve been following our stories this week, you know we’ve been focusing on Canada’s long, cold December nights, leading up to the Winter Solstice on December 21, 2024.

So far this week, as we’ve covered topics related to the winter solstice and the long dark, cold December nights in Canada, we’ve primarily focused on things people do at home or in their community during their downtime. But while many of us are indoors staying warm, others venture out or stay awake to keep everything running—people whose jobs don’t stop when the sun goes down.

Today, we’ll look at the types of important work that Canadians do at night and how night work has evolved in Canada, from pre-European contact times to the digital era as we acknowledge the things that those of us who don’t work at night may take for granted.

Modern Night Shifts in Canada

Let’s begin with a glimpse of who’s working nights today.

According to an April 2022 report by Statistics Canada, about 1.7% of employed Canadians aged 15 to 69—around 323,000 individuals—usually worked a regular night shift in their main job. However, broader definitions that include hours between midnight and 5 a.m. suggest this number could be higher, at around 12% of the workforce (about 1.8 million people).

Some specific industries stand out:

Transportation and Warehousing: With 5.5% of workers on night shifts, it’s one of the highest.
Business, Building, and Other Support Services: About 4.5%.
Accommodation and Food Services: Around 2.8%.
Retail Trade: Approximately 2.7%.
Manufacturing: Also around 2.7%.

A real-world example is Donald, a nurse in Montreal who works 12-hour nights in a hospital and an addiction centre. He adapts by sleeping in short fragments and sometimes powering through consecutive hours without heavy fatigue. This story reminds us that crucial roles—like nursing—must operate 24/7, even in the darkest months of winter.

Pre-European Contact—Indigenous Night Practices

Before Europeans arrived, Indigenous communities across what is now Canada engaged in nighttime activities for cultural, spiritual, and practical reasons:

Night Hunting and Fishing
- Torches attracted fish and game, making it easier to catch them under darkness.
- Not universal: For instance, the Hudson Bay Lowland Cree typically avoided nighttime hunts, showing that practices varied by region.
Storytelling and Oral Traditions
- Evenings were prime time for passing down cultural beliefs, history, and relationships.
- These sessions built holistic learning, with elders teaching youth about rituals and ways of life.
Spiritual Ceremonies
- Certain night ceremonies aligned with lunar cycles.
- Deeply connected to the land and ancestors, these events highlighted the spiritual significance of darkness in Indigenous cultures.

Night Work in the 1800s—Building a Nation After Sundown

As Canada’s population grew and industries took hold, nighttime work became essential for safety, commerce, and infrastructure.

Night Watchmen
- In the absence of formal police, these workers patrolled town streets after dusk.
- By the late 19th century, as organized labour grew, watchmen joined other workers in seeking better conditions.
Lighthouse Keepers
- Ensuring maritime safety meant keeping lights on through stormy nights.
- The isolation and round-the-clock demands led to calls for improved pay and schedules.
Railway Workers
- The Canadian railway expansion required 24-hour labour for track maintenance and train operations.
- Long hours and dangerous tasks fueled early union movements, demanding safer environments.
Mill Workers
- Factories ran continuously, pushing workers into night shifts to keep production going.
- Poor regulations and lengthy hours led to a rise in labour activism.
Telegraph Operators
- Critical for spanning Canada’s vast distances, they worked shifts to ensure messages moved at all hours.
- Skilled operators often formed part of organizlabourbor, advocating for better work conditions.
Barkers and Night Clerks at Inns
- As communities grew, inns stayed open for travellers.
Newspaper Printers
- Printed overnight to deliver fresh news by dawn.
Dock Workers
- Loaded or unloaded cargo around tide schedules in ports like Halifax and Vancouver.
Coal Miners
- Operating in shifts, with underground environments oblivious to day or night.
Blacksmiths
- Ready for emergencies such as broken wagon wheels at night.
Night Farmers
- Tending livestock, assisting with births, or harvesting at odd hours.
Carriage Drivers
- Transporting mail and people between towns in the wee hours.
Doctors
- Frequently called out for births or emergencies after dark.

The 1900s—From Healthcare to Policing

Moving into the 20th century, urbanization and modern services expanded night shifts into new areas:

Police Officers and Firefighters
- Growing cities demanded professional safety services at night.
- Night shifts for these roles became standard, ensuring quick response to emergencies.
Nurses and Hospital Staff
- As hospitals evolved, around-the-clock care became the norm.
- Nurses working nights provided essential patient support, even in early 1900s Canada.

With industrial growth came the Great Wars, during which Canadians also performed critical night operations.

World War I: Night Raids and Recon

Night Action of 1/2 December 1917
- Canadian units joined British forces near Passchendaele under moonlit conditions, discovering that moonlight could expose troop movements.
- Gains were limited, highlighting the complexity of nighttime warfare.
Nighttime Trench Raids and Patrols
- Carried out to gather intelligence and seize prisoners.
- Required stealth and planning, but posed high risks.

World War II: Darkness and Strategy

Convoy Escorts in the Atlantic
- Royal Canadian Navy ships protected merchant vessels under the cover of darkness, navigating tricky U-boat threats.
RCAF Bombing Missions
- Canadian airmen attacked enemy targets at night to hinder supplies.
- Navigation and avoidance of enemy fighters demanded skill and courage.
Night Patrols on Land
- In December 1944, Canadian infantry patrolled in the dark during the important Battle of the Scheldt.
- They used darkness for concealment but risked ambushes or friendly fire.

Darkness was something that both sides of the conflict tried to exploit to gain an advantage during wartime.

Service Industry—Night Shifts Keep Communities Active

From the 1900s onward, the service sector evolved to cater to those who need goods and help overnight.

Care Home Overnight Staff
- Nurses, personal support workers, and caregivers who look after residents require 24-hour attention.
- Provide vital care—medication assistance, safety checks, and comfort—throughout the night, ensuring residents’ well-being in long-term care homes or assisted-living facilities.
24/7 Convenience Stores
- Clerks sold food, coffee, and emergency items through the night, vital for travellers or shift workers.
- Gained traction mid-1900s, remaining a staple in both cities and smaller towns.
Service Station Attendants
- Provided fuel and minor repairs on highways at night, especially important in remote stretches during Canadian winters.
Restaurant Workers
- Diners like Tim Hortons or 24-hour chains served night-shiftlabourerss and late-night crowds.
Grocery Shelf Stockers
- Restocked inventory after closing hours so shoppers would find well-stocked shelves at dawn.
Hotel Night Auditors and Front Desk Staff
- Handled late arrivals, guest inquiries, and daily financial records overnight, ensuring smooth check-ins.
Transportation Workers
- Taxi drivers, bus operators, and now ride-share services help night employees get around or take people home from late events.
Emergency Roadside Technicians
- Rescuing stranded drivers or changing tires on snowy highways at 2 a.m. is a lifesaver, especially in fierce Canadian blizzards.
Cleaning Crews
- Malls, airports, and office towers rely on overnight cleaning to be ready for busy mornings.
Delivery Drivers
- Newspapers, mail, and urgent packages often move at night for early morning delivery.
- Logistics giants like FedEx or Amazon staff late shifts to meet next-day demands.
Call Center Operators
- Offer 24/7 customer or tech support.
- Essential for urgent matters like lost credit cards or sudden cell phone outages.

The 2000s—Shifts in a Digital World

As technology and consumer habits changed, new night-shift roles also emerged:

Cybersecurity Analysts
- Keep an eye on networks around the clock. In the banking sector, for example, night watchers respond to suspicious activity in real-time.
E-Commerce Warehouse Operatives
- Online shopping popularity led to massive fulfillment centers, many running 24/7, employing night teams to pick, pack, and ship orders.
Video Game Developers
- Studios like Ubisoft in Montreal coordinate with global teams and push updates around the clock, leading to late-hour work cycles.
Data Center Technicians
- For platforms that never shut down—like streaming services or cloud computing—techs handle server issues off-peak.

Human Stories Behind the Statistics

Each of these roles is filled by someone balancing everyday life with nocturnal schedules.

A few examples include:

Donald in Montreal
- A nurse working 12-hour nights at a hospital and an addiction center.
- He manages short naps and can go multiple shifts without heavy fatigue, reminding us how vital healthcare workers are when the rest of us are sleeping.
Amazon Packer in Toronto
- Sam started a night shift job to support his family, packing orders that would arrive by morning.
- Especially busy around holidays, he takes pride in ensuring gifts reach families on time.
Remote Lifesaver in Alberta
- On highways between Calgary and Edmonton, roadside assistance techs brave sub-zero weather to fix flat tires at 3 a.m., saving drivers from being stranded in the dark.

These personal accounts highlight that night work is more than an industry statistic; it’s a lifeline for many Canadians.

The Challenge of Working on Long, Cold December Nights

Working nights is one thing—working them in a Canadian December adds another layer of difficulty:

Extreme Cold: Sub-zero temperatures, ice, and snow can turn even simple tasks like refuelling into a challenge.
Isolation: Some night workers, like lighthouse keepers of the past or remote data center staff, operate alone for periods.
Health Impacts: Disrupted sleep cycles can lead to fatigue, and harsh weather may increase illnesses.

Nevertheless, many night-shift workers describe a sense of camaraderie, resilience, and pride that forms when they share the dark hours with others, all while the rest of the city sleeps.

Why Night Work Matters

I know I missed a tonne of other important jobs people do at night. And to anyone not listed above, please know that the work that you do is appreciated too.

I’ll sneak one more in here:

Snow Plough Operators
- Clear roads, highways, and city streets through harsh winter nights, often working long shifts when most are asleep.
- Ensure safe travel for drivers, help maintain routes for emergency vehicles, and keep critical roads open during storms.

All of these overnight roles we’ve covered are crucial. Over the years, Canadians working in the dark have:

Kept roads open and safe.
Protected us from hazards—both natural and human-made.
Fed us, warmed us and connected us through technology.
Ensured our healthcare system stays operational at all hours.
Supported families, the economy, and our collective peace of mind.

From the earliest Indigenous night fishermen to modern cybersecurity pros, the story is one of adaptation and dedication—each era shaping the types of jobs that need to get done at night.

Saluting the Night Workers at the Winter Solstice

As the Winter Solstice comes and goes for another year, let’s take a moment to think about Canadians who step out into the cold darkness to keep everything moving.

Their efforts are a quiet yet essential part of our country’s past and present. Whether it’s an indigenous person keeping the fire stoked and keeping watch a night, a telegraph operator in the 1800s, a night-shift nurse in modern Montreal, or a data center tech overseeing our digital backbone, these people embrace the shadows of winter and we benefit from their important jobs and roles.

So, next time you wake in the middle of the night and see streetlights casting their glow on empty roads, remember there’s a community of workers out there.

They’re stocking shelves, patrolling streets, mending servers, delivering packages, and caring for the sick. They’ve done so for centuries, from the days of torches along riverbanks to the glare of LED headlights on a snowy highway. The darkest nights can reveal the brightest dedication—and Canadians working through December nights prove it every day.

Share Your Night Work Stories, Examples, and Experiences

Alright, now it’s your turn. What did I miss? What are your experiences with night work? Have you worked, or do you currently work nights? Take a sec. to type a comment and share a story. I look forward to reading them all and so do other readers.

And then, have a rad rest of your day (and night too)!