Thousands of workers rallied in front of Ottawa's Parliament buildings to protest manufacturing job losses Wednesday, while politicians inside argued about the government's role keeping jobs in Canada.

The workers, waving flags and banners, were protesting to draw attention to more than 52,000 job cuts in Canada's manufacturing sector since January — 30,000 of the jobs axed in the past month.

Rows of makeshift tombstones representing Canadian manufacturing job losses adorn the lawn at the House of Parliament as part of a protest in Ottawa on Wednesday.
(Fred Chartrand/Canadian Press)

Some protesters briefly set up a fake graveyard beside Parliament, with tombstones bearing the names of Canadian businesses that have closed down or laid off workers.

Speakers addressing the crowd placed blame on the federal government for not stopping businesses from folding or relocating abroad.

"We're devastated by their monetary policy, their tax policy and their terrible trade negotiations," said Ken Georgetti, president of the Canadian Labour Congress, which organized the demonstration.

While Georgetti's words were met with cheers, Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion was booed loudly when he addressed the workers, many of whom take issue with the Liberals' opposition to anti-scab legislation.

As protesters rallied outside, members of Parliament from all three opposition parties attacked the Conservative government in the House of Commons for not taking a more active role in saving jobs.

"The fact is we're losing 150 jobs in the manufacturing sector every single day," Layton said, his voice rising as he pointed his finger at Conservatives in the House.

"And yet we have no action on foreign takeovers, no action on the high dollar, no action on fair trade that would protect Canadian jobs … We've got no policy at all."

'Families are in tears': Layton

The job losses are devastating workers, Layton said.

"Their families are in tears around this country. Why isn't this prime minister listening to them instead of the boys on Bay Street?"

Prime Minister Stephen Harper countered that his government has done a great deal to boost employment across Canada in all sectors. 

"Despite the difficulties, the fact of the matter is we do have a lot of job creation in this country and we do have the lowest unemployment rate now than we've had in nearly four decades," he said.

Harper said his government's March budget contained strong incentives for manufacturers and was well-received by the sector. He lashed out at Liberals and the NDP for voting against the budget, which was passed with the support of the Bloc.