Williams initially planned to follow in his father's footsteps by becoming a clergyman, but his goals changed during the Great Depression when the United Church of Canada moved his father to the industrial city of Hamilton, Ontario, where he was drawn into the trade union movement with a view to improving the lives of people on earth. He attended McMaster University in Hamilton, where he studied English and philosophy. It was during the course of his collegiate career that Williams became enamored with the idea of industrial democracy, worker participation in the decision-making process of production.