Air Canada strike escalates as flight attendants defy government return to work order

The Air Canada strike entered its second day Sunday, with flight attendants defying a government-backed return-to-work order and effectively halting operations at the country’s largest airline. The disruption has already grounded most of Air Canada’s 700 daily flights, stranding more than 100,000 travelers in the middle of the busy summer travel season.

The walkout began just after 1 a.m. Saturday, following a breakdown in months of contentious negotiations between Air Canada and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), which represents more than 10,000 flight attendants.

Despite the Canadian Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) ordering workers to return to their posts, CUPE called on its members to stand their ground, citing the order as a violation of their constitutional rights.

“We will be challenging this blatantly unconstitutional order that violates the Charter rights of 10,517 flight attendants,” CUPE said in a statement, adding, “We invite Air Canada back to the table to negotiate a fair deal, rather than relying on the federal government to do their dirty work.”

CUPE says flight attendants are only compensated when the aircraft is moving from pushback to arrival and receive no pay for boarding, deplaning, or ground delays. That often amounts to several hours of unpaid work per shift, and the union insists it’s no longer tolerable.

“We are here because Air Canada forces us to work for free for hours and hours every day,” said Wesley Lesosky, president of CUPE’s Air Canada division, at a press conference in Toronto.

Air Canada has proposed a 38% increase in overall compensation over four years. The company argues this would make its flight attendants the highest paid in the country, with senior crew earning up to CA$94 per hour ($69 USD) in the first year and annual incomes averaging CA$87,000 ($63,000 USD) by 2027.

But the union says those numbers hide the real issue partial pay for partial work. Under Air Canada’s offer, flight attendants would receive just 50% compensation for duties like boarding and deplaning, not full wages.

After the strike began, Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government asked the CIRB to impose binding arbitration, a process allowed under Canadian labor law when national economic interests are at risk. The CIRB complied, but the union called the move “unjust” and “heavy-handed,” particularly since no further negotiations were scheduled as of Saturday morning.

“This is an administration using workers as scapegoats,” one picketer outside Toronto Pearson International Airport said. “They’d rather override our rights than hold Air Canada accountable.”

Now, the federal government may seek a court order to enforce compliance or request an expedited hearing, escalating the standoff further.

With more than 240 additional flights canceled Sunday, the airline announced it was scrapping plans to restart operations that evening. Passengers were advised not to go to the airport unless traveling on another airline, as capacity is stretched thin across Canada.

“Air Canada will offer those with canceled flights options, including obtaining a full refund or receiving a credit for future travel,” the company said, adding that it would attempt to rebook customers on other airlines when possible.

The standoff highlights rising tensions between workers and corporations over unpaid labor, a growing concern in the post-COVID economy. For Air Canada flight attendants 70% of whom are women, according to CUPE the strike is about more than wages; it's about respect for time worked and fairness on the job.

With no agreement in sight and both sides digging in, Canada’s largest airline is now facing a deepening crisis that could reverberate through the travel industry and beyond.

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