Alberta students cut class, rally at legislature for teachers in strike-bill dispute

EDMONTON — Hundreds of students cut class Thursday to march and chant against Alberta’s shutdown of a teachers strike in protests that saw Premier Danielle Smith compared to a cold-hearted, green-furred Grinch.

“Hey, hey, ho, ho, Danielle Smith has got to go!” students chanted in a morning protest outside the legislature in Edmonton.

They carried signs. One mocked Smith’s staunch oil and gas advocacy, stating: “If kids were pipelines, would they get some funding?”

In some cases, students were joined by adults. One sign featured a smirking Smith resembling the Christmas-stealing Grinch of Dr. Seuss storybook fame alongside lyrics from the Grinch song: “Your heart’s an empty hole.”

They were protesting the government’s decision this week to end a three-week provincewide teachers strike by passing through the house in just hours a bill ordering 51,000 teachers back to work.

Smith’s government used the Charter’s notwithstanding clause to override teachers’ right to strike, impose a contract teachers had previously rejected and shield the bill from legal challenge.

Students and teachers were back in class Wednesday, but one day later, pockets of students across the province staged a protest organized on social media platforms and chat rooms.

In Edmonton, some wore red, a colour that has come to symbolize unity with educators.

Student Matilda Barron said being heard at the legislature was more important than one day of classes. “For us, it’s not playing hooky. It’s our future that we’re talking about,” said Barron.

The 16-year-old said she wants the government to spend a week in a public school and see first-hand the state of an underfunded education system.

“We need change, we need it now and we need them to know that,” Barron said.

Corey Piche, 15, said there aren’t enough teachers and educational assistants. “My classes are far too big, and teachers are underfunded and deserve a lot more,” said Piche.

Students also rallied in other parts of Edmonton, including outside the teachers union headquarters in the city’s west end.

A few dozen stood on a southside expressway overpass holding signs and cheering as cars, trucks and firefighters honked their horns as they drove underneath.

One of those students, Josh Plamondon, said the back-to-work order is terrible and believes educators should be given what they want.

“This is a milestone which should have never been crossed, and today we fight so that it won’t be crossed again,” said Plamondon, who is in Grade 12.

“It’s our obligation as students and as members of the populace to fight so that people’s rights aren’t trampled over.”

In Calgary, about 200 students demonstrated at city hall.

Students from Robert Thirsk High School stood along a roadway with signs that read: “We’re out here because we couldn’t fit in our classrooms anymore,” and “If school zones have limits, then classes should, too.”

Jason Schilling, the head of the Alberta Teachers’ Association, said in a statement the protests send a message given it’s the students who are directly affected by classroom conditions.

“The fact they are standing up for themselves and organizing these events is an indication of how much they care about their own education,” he said.

Inside the legislature, Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides told reporters he supports students voicing their concerns as a part of a democracy.

“They’ve been out of class for three weeks, and they’ve lost a lot of learning attributed to the strike. I am concerned they might be missing some more important schooling,” he said.

Amanda Chapman, the Opposition NDP’s education critic, said students are learning valuable lessons about democracy and their Charter-protected rights, including the right to protest.

“Not all learning takes place in a classroom, of course,” she said.

Smith is not in the province. She left on a trade mission to Saudi Arabia and other destinations in the Middle East as the bill was introduced and debated Monday.

She has said the sheer size of the strike, the need for labour peace and stability, and the fact the strike was causing students irreparable educational, social and emotional harm mandated the back-to-work order and use of the notwithstanding clause.

Schilling has said they are looking for a legal way to challenge the bill and calls the use of the notwithstanding clause a gross violation of rights.

In a news release, the Canadian Bar Association added its voice to that of unions, Amnesty International, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association and the Alberta NDP in criticizing Smith’s use of the notwithstanding clause pre-emptively.

“By doing so, they are seeking to remove the judicial branch from the democratic law-making process,” wrote Christopher Samuel, president of the bar association’s Alberta branch. The association represents 40,000 lawyers, judges, legal academics and law students across Canada.

“We cannot take the rule of law for granted; if we do, it may not be there to protect our rights when we most need it.”

A coalition of Alberta’s unions says they will work to get government legislature members recalled, while polling members and the public on whether to launch a general strike.

The strike was launched Oct. 6. The main sticking point was teachers wanting tangible action on fixing overcrowded classrooms and substandard supports for students with complex needs.

The province has promised to hire 3,000 more teachers and has struck a panel to address issues of overcrowding and classroom complexities.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 30, 2025.

Jack Farrell and Lisa Johnson, The Canadian Press