Some Air Canada flights that were scheduled to take off today are being cancelled as the airline braces for a work stoppage this weekend.
The union that represents around 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants is poised to strike just before 1 a.m. on Saturday, as the airline also plans to lock out those workers.
Air Canada said it will begin cancelling flights Thursday, with more disruptions Friday. A complete stoppage would take effect Saturday if it doesn't reach a last-minute deal with the flight attendants' union.
It said customers whose flights are cancelled will be eligible for a full refund, and it has also made arrangements with other Canadian and foreign carriers to provide alternative travel options "to the extent possible."
The airline is expected to provide further details at a news conference with senior airline executives this morning in Toronto.
Air Canada has requested government-directed arbitration, however Ottawa has not indicated whether it will intervene in the dispute.
In a statement Thursday morning, federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu acknowledged Air Canada's request, adding she has asked the union to respond to it.
She urged both sides to return to the bargaining table.
"To be clear: deals that are made at the bargaining table are the best ones," said Hajdu.
"Federal mediators are willing and able to work with parties around the clock until they reach a deal."
Brock University labour professor Larry Savage said Air Canada is using its lockout notice "as a pressure point on the prime minister," as the Mark Carney-led Liberal government faces its first major work stoppage of federally regulated employees.
Under former prime minister Justin Trudeau, Ottawa was called upon last year to intervene through binding arbitration in a potential strike by Air Canada pilots. However, Trudeau said the government would only step in if it became clear a negotiated agreement wasn’t possible.
The airline and the union representing its pilots eventually reached a deal on their own.
However, the government took a different approach in other recent cases.
In August 2024, Canadian National Railway Co. and Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. locked out more than 9,000 workers before then-labour minister Steve MacKinnon intervened. MacKinnon directed the Canada Industrial Relations Board to order binding arbitration through Section 107 of the Canada Labour Code, which it did.
When workers at B.C. ports went on strike in 2023, then-federal labour minister Seamus O’Regan also used the section to direct the board to impose final binding arbitration if a negotiated resolution wasn't possible.
"Management at Air Canada is taking a strategic cue from employers in the ports and the railways," said Savage.
While he said there is "a long tradition" in Canada of government intervention in labour disputes, Savage said the increasing reliance on Section 107 of the labour code is "troublesome."
"It also highlights how easily collective bargaining rights can be trampled on," said Savage. "When the government swoops in only at the behest of employers, it undermines our entire system of labour relations."
Earlier this week, the Air Canada component of the Canadian Union of Public Employees rejected the airline's proposal to enter binding arbitration, saying it prefers to negotiate a deal that its members can then vote on.
The union said Wednesday evening that the airline had yet to return to the bargaining table after issuing its lockout notice.
"The union tabled its most recent proposal to Air Canada on (Tuesday) at 9 p.m. ET. The union has been at the bargaining table ever since, waiting for Air Canada to issue their counter-offer. The airline has yet to respond," CUPE's statement said.
"Needless to say, a negotiation requires two parties to be present, but Air Canada appears to be missing in action."
The union's main sticking points in negotiations have revolved around wages that have been outpaced by inflation during the course of its previous 10-year contract, along with unpaid labour when planes aren't in the air.
Its members voted 99.7 per cent in favour of a strike mandate last week. Talks later resumed before the two sides reached an impasse Tuesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 14, 2025.
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Sammy Hudes, The Canadian Press
