MONTREAL/TORONTO — Air Canada AC.TO -3.85% ▼‘s flight attendants, represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), extended their strike into its fourth day on Tuesday, August 19, 2025, disrupting travel for hundreds of thousands of passengers during the peak summer season. While talks between the union and the airline resumed late Monday, a standoff persists after CUPE defied a federal labor board order to return to work, escalating tensions with both Air Canada and the Canadian government.
The strike, which began on Saturday, August 16, has grounded approximately 700 daily flights, affecting around 130,000 passengers daily, according to Air Canada, Canada’s largest carrier and a member of the global Star Alliance. The Canadian Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) declared the strike unlawful and ordered flight attendants back to work by 2 p.m. ET on Sunday, but CUPE’s leadership, led by president Mark Hancock, refused to comply, with Hancock stating he would “risk jail time” rather than force cabin crews back. The union insists the strike will continue until Air Canada negotiates on key demands, including higher wages and compensation for unpaid ground work, such as boarding passengers.
Late Monday, CUPE announced on Facebook that it had met with Air Canada and federal mediator William Kaplan in Toronto, marking the first talks since the strike began. However, the union emphasized that the strike remains active, and a source familiar with the discussions told Reuters that mediation hinges on flight attendants returning to work—a condition CUPE has rejected. The resulting three-way standoff between the airline, workers, and the government has drawn attention from other labor groups, who view the dispute as a pivotal moment for workers’ rights in Canada.
Government Response and Unpaid Work Probe
Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu has intensified pressure on Air Canada, urging both sides to accept government mediation while announcing a probe into allegations of unpaid work in the airline sector. Flight attendants have long argued that their contracts should include pay for ground duties, such as boarding and safety checks, which currently go uncompensated. “I’ve ordered a probe into the allegation of unpaid work in the airline sector,” Hajdu said, expressing surprise at the practice in posts on X. The investigation, a key demand of CUPE, could reshape labor standards in Canada’s aviation industry.
Hajdu also invoked Section 107 of the Canada Labour Code on Saturday to refer the dispute to the CIRB for binding arbitration, a move CUPE called “unconstitutional” and accused of “caving to corporate pressure.” The government’s options to end the strike include seeking court enforcement of the CIRB’s back-to-work order or passing legislation, though the latter would require support from opposition parties in a minority government and approval from both houses of parliament, currently on recess until September 15.
Union Demands and Airline Offer
The core issues fueling the strike are wages and unpaid ground work. CUPE has criticized Air Canada’s offer of a 38% increase in total compensation over four years, claiming it translates to only a 17.2% wage hike, which they argue is “below inflation, below market value, below minimum wage,” according to a union statement. Air Canada’s CEO, in a Reuters interview on Monday, defended the offer as positioning flight attendants as “the best compensated in Canada” but acknowledged a “big gap” with the union’s demands, offering no immediate plan to bridge it.
The dispute follows months of stalled negotiations, with 99.7% of CUPE’s 10,000 flight attendants voting for strike action earlier this month. The union has highlighted the financial strain on workers, with some relying on food banks due to wages lagging inflation since their last contract a decade ago, as noted by CUPE Strike Committee Chair Shanyn Elliott in a prior Reuters interview.
Passenger Impact and Labor Solidarity
The strike has left passengers stranded, with many expressing frustration over limited support from Air Canada. James Numfor, 38, from Regina, Saskatchewan, told Reuters he and his family have been sleeping in Toronto’s Pearson International Airport for two nights after returning from Cameroon. “We find any place comfortable with the kids, they just lay down,” Numfor said, adding that Air Canada provided only one night of hotel accommodation. Retiree Klaus Hickman, who missed a Toronto flight and rebooked with another airline, sympathized with the workers but worried about making a connecting flight to Germany, citing health concerns.
Other labor groups have rallied behind CUPE. Bea Bruske, president of the Canadian Labour Congress, representing 3 million workers, told Reuters that unions are prepared to escalate support, including covering CUPE’s legal costs. Air Canada’s pilot union, the Air Line Pilots’ Association, encouraged its members to join picket lines during off-hours, stating, “This is an important moment for organized labor across Canada.”
As talks resume, the outcome remains uncertain. The strike’s defiance of the CIRB order marks a rare challenge to federal authority, drawing parallels to recent U.S. labor gains by flight attendants at American Airlines and Alaska Airlines. With passengers stranded and labor tensions rising, the resolution of this dispute could set a precedent for Canada’s aviation industry and beyond.
