The Canadian government has intervened to end a strike by more than 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants, less than half a day after it began, following hundreds of flight cancellations that disrupted tens of thousands of travelers during the busy summer holiday season.
Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu directed the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) to order the airline and its striking employees back to work. She also asked the board to impose binding arbitration and extend the terms of the current contract until a new agreement is reached.
“It has now become clear that this dispute won’t be resolved at the table,” Hajdu said in a statement. “Canadians are increasingly finding themselves in very difficult situations and the strike is rapidly impacting the Canadian economy.”
The walkout began early Saturday after pay negotiations collapsed, prompting Montreal-based Air Canada to ground hundreds of flights and lock out its flight attendants. The disruption affected an estimated 130,000 passengers per day.
The union representing flight attendants, the Air Canada component of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), vowed to continue the strike despite the government order, accusing Ottawa of undermining workers’ rights. The decision, CUPE said, rewards Air Canada by “crushing” collective bargaining.
The move extends the government’s controversial power to intervene in labor disputes “to secure industrial peace” through the CIRB — a tactic used in past disputes with railway and postal workers. Critics argue it erodes the right to strike by signaling to companies that the government will step in.
Reactions were sharply divided. Business groups applauded the decision, citing the mounting economic toll. “With valuable cargo grounded and passengers stranded, the government made the right decision to refer the two sides to binding arbitration,” said Matthew Holmes, head of public policy at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. Air Canada estimates it may take up to a week to fully restore its network, potentially affecting nearly a million passengers.
But opposition parties and unions condemned the intervention. “Prime Minister Mark Carney is proving once again that he is no friend to workers or labor, and would rather reward his corporate buddies than pay flight attendants who work tirelessly on their feet all day,” said Conservative labor spokesman Kyle Seeback, touting his party’s proposals to improve flight attendant pay.
Public opinion also appears to side with workers. A recent Abacus Data poll found that 59% of Canadians believe the federal government should respect employees’ right to strike, even if it leads to major travel disruptions. Many respondents said they sympathized more with the flight attendants than with the airline.
As of Saturday evening, it remained unclear when flights would resume, with the CIRB expected to act on the government’s directive in the coming days.
