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OTTAWA — Air Canada flight attendants remain on strike despite back-to-work orders by the Canada Industrial Relations Board.
Over the weekend, the federal government asked the board to send the two sides to binding arbitration and order an end to the job action. But the union is challenging the order in Federal Court, and the 10,000 workers have stayed on strike.
This morning the labour board declared the strike unlawful and ordered the union’s leadership to tell the flight attendants to go back to work.
Here’s the latest. All times ET.
9 p.m.
The Air Canada Component of CUPE says in a statement that the company has reached out and that the parties have moved forward in their “continued attempts to reach a fair deal.”
The union says meetings with Air Canada started this evening with the assistance of mediator William Kaplan in Toronto.
The union says the strike is “still on” and that the talks have “just commenced.”
7:10 p.m.
Air Canada says its flight attendants need to return to work before the airline can push on with negotiations, even as the union says it won’t end its now unlawful strike until a deal is reached at the bargaining table.
Air Canada chief operating officer Mark Nasr says the airline is ready to work on an industry-leading deal but can’t do that while planes are grounded.
5:30 p.m.
Air Canada says all flights of Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge remain suspended through 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday as members of the union representing its flight attendants continue strike action.
4:30 p.m.
Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu tells The Canadian Press that the federal government is launching a probe into allegations of unpaid work in the airline sector.
One of the key complaints from the union representing Air Canada flight attendants is that workers are not paid for duties performed before takeoff.
Hajdu says she finds those claims deeply disturbing and says the probe led by her department will close any such loopholes if they exist.
4:20 p.m.
The Public Service Alliance of Canada says in a statement that it stands in solidarity with CUPE Air Canada flight attendants. PSAC says it demands the government “immediately” rescind the order invoking Section 107 of the Canada Labour Code forcing Air Canada workers back on the job.
3:30 p.m.
Air Canada picketers are lining the road to the departure terminals at the Vancouver International Airport, holding signs and cheering, as horns from passing cars honk in support. Air Canada employees are stationed outside the arrivals terminal by a parking garage, chanting “hey, hey Rousseau, unpaid work has got to go” over the sound of horns and whistles.
Inside the terminal, Air Canada kiosks and customer support stations are open, though only a few dozen people shuffle through the lines.
The scene echoes that in Montreal earlier in the day, where workers took over the road leading to the airport, singing along to tunes like ABBA’s ‘Money, Money, Money.’ Drivers honked in support as they passed by, and one pilot even stopped by to drop off boxes of pizza for the crowd.
1:45 p.m.
Thousands of passengers continue to face another day of travel disruptions.
In Toronto, John and Lois Alderman are looking at the prospect of being stranded another four to five days while they wait for a flight back home to Manchester, U.K. John says that could leave him running out of insulin before he can get home.
Some passengers are expressing sympathy for the striking flight attendants. Lisa Smith, stuck at Montreal’s airport with her sister Nicole Power, says flight attendants should be paid for time they spend on the job.
1:30 p.m.
Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau says in a BNN Bloomberg interview that he’s hoping flights can resume tomorrow but that the airline will make that decision later in the day.
He also says the company was caught off guard by the union’s defiance of the government’s back-to-work order.
12:30 p.m.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees holds a press conference and says the strike will continue. CUPE national president Mark Hancock says the union is fighting not just for flight attendants, but for the right to collective bargaining.
He says if that means going to jail or the union being fined, then so be it.
More workers are joining the picket line at Montreal’s Pierre Elliott Trudeau airport, with the protest now appearing to be the same size as it was Saturday. The number of workers picketing at Toronto Pearson International Airport has also grown as the day has continued.
11:30 a.m.
At Montreal’s Pierre Elliott Trudeau airport, passengers are still showing up, hoping arriving in person might get them a better chance at securing a flight. A dozen or so could be seen asking for help at check in, some visibly upset.
The scene is less chaotic than this weekend, when crowds swarmed staff in the hope of finding alternative flights. Fewer workers also appear to be on the picket line than on Saturday, the first day of the strike.
9:30 a.m.
Prime Minister Mark Carney says he’s disappointed Air Canada and the union representing its flight attendants weren’t able to reach a deal after eight months of negotiations.
He tells reporters on Parliament Hill he is urging both sides to quickly resolve the situation.
9 a.m.
Air Canada says the Canada Industrial Relations Board has declared the strike unlawful and has ordered the union’s leadership to direct its members to return to work.
The order came as picketers continued to march around the Terminal 1 departure doors at Toronto Pearson International Airport early Monday morning.
Chants reverberated through the sliding doors and into the airport terminal, where passengers approached Air Canada employees to ask about alternatives to their cancelled flights.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 18, 2025.
The Canadian Press
