Unifor was officially formed on August 31, 2013. Established in a time of rising income inequality, declining levels of private sector union density, and aggressive corporate and government attacks on the wages and benefits of Canadian workers, Unifor is the product of an ambitious revitalization project undertaken by the former Canadian Auto Workers union (CAW) and the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada (CEP).

CAW and CEP leadership set a goal to form a new Canadian union, with a new structure and identity that would better represent its members, organize and empower all workers (whether in the union or not) and build a more cohesive and strategic movement of working people.