Air Canada suspended its planned restart on August 17, 2025, after the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) ordered operations and duties to resume and CUPE urged flight attendants not to report. The CIRB later declared the strike unlawful, but the stoppage ended only when Air Canada and CUPE reached a tentative agreement on August 19. The disruption cancelled flights and stranded customers; the cancellation totals and recovery forecasts below are Air Canada’s estimates, not independent counts.
How the restart plan broke down
The dispute was between Air Canada and the Airline Division of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), which represented 10,307 flight attendants, according to Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC). Their collective agreement expired March 31, 2025. The union reported a 99.7% strike mandate vote on August 5, ESDC’s January 5, 2026, notes say.
- August 16, 2025: A strike and lockout began. The federal minister invoked section 107 of the Canada Labour Code, directing the CIRB to order operations and duties to resume and refer unresolved terms to final binding arbitration. The direction also extended the agreement until a new one was determined, according to ESDC’s January 2026 notes.
- August 17: The CIRB issued its return-to-operations orders. Air Canada announced a restart plan, then said it suspended that plan after CUPE urged members not to report for work. The airline reported approximately 240 cancellations for flights scheduled to begin that afternoon; it said its normal schedule was about 700 flights a day.
- August 18: After a hearing, the CIRB declared the strike unlawful and ordered union leaders to direct members back to work. Air Canada said it estimated that flights for 500,000 customers had been cancelled by then.
- August 19: The parties reached a tentative agreement, ending the strike and lockout, according to the federal government.
Air Canada said its own and Air Canada Rouge’s operations had been suspended from August 16. The company attributed the difficulty of restarting to aircraft and crews being out of position, said recovery would take several days, and anticipated further cancellations while schedules stabilized. Those were the airline’s operational assessments, not findings by the government or the CIRB.
What section 107 did—and what it did not settle
Section 107 authorizes the minister, when the minister considers it expedient, to refer questions to the CIRB or direct the Board to take steps the minister considers necessary to maintain or secure industrial peace and promote conditions for settling labour disputes. In this case, the direction led to CIRB orders to resume operations and duties and to arbitration of unresolved terms.
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A ministerial direction is not the same as voluntary agreement by the parties. The events that followed show the distinction: the Board made orders, members continued striking, and the CIRB subsequently declared the strike unlawful. The Board’s general guidance says the legality of a strike or lockout depends on the Code’s requirements and the facts of the case.
The CIRB describes its response to an unlawful stoppage as remedial, focused on ending it and returning people to work rather than punishment. It says the Board may issue cease-and-desist orders; an order that is not followed may be filed in the Federal Court of Appeal for enforcement, where contempt proceedings may follow. That is general process guidance, not a statement that a particular penalty was imposed in the Air Canada dispute.
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What happened after the stoppage ended
The August 19 tentative agreement did not become a lasting settlement. ESDC’s January 5, 2026, notes say flight attendants rejected it on September 6, with 99.1% voting against it. On September 16, Air Canada and CUPE agreed to refer the remaining wage issue directly to arbitration. The notes say the agreement barred another strike or lockout, but the reviewed government record does not state the arbitration’s final outcome.
The wider use of section 107 has also been challenged. An ESDC committee briefing dated March 11, 2026, says unions challenged referrals and related CIRB orders from 2024 and 2025, arguing that they interfere with meaningful collective bargaining and the protected right to strike. As of that briefing, challenges were proceeding before the Federal Court and Federal Court of Appeal; it does not establish a final ruling or the eventual status of litigation specific to Air Canada.
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What affected passengers were told at the time
In notices dated August 17, Air Canada said Air Canada Express flights operated by Jazz and PAL continued normally while Air Canada and Rouge operations were suspended. The airline told customers whose flights were cancelled not to go to the airport without confirmation and described refunds, future-travel credits, and rebooking options. These were instructions and options for the 2025 disruption, not current travel policies.
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- ESDC, TRCM Committee briefing binder, March 11, 2026 — section 107 text, broader labour-relations context, and status of reported court challenges.
- ESDC, Question Period Notes: Air Canada and CUPE Airline Division, January 5, 2026 — agreement dates, bargaining-unit size, and later votes and arbitration referral.
- Air Canada, August 17, 2025 — the airline’s account of suspending its planned restart.
- Air Canada, August 17, 2025 — the airline’s restart and passenger notices.
- CIRB, “No. 06 – Unlawful Strikes and Lockouts” — general guidance on unlawful stoppages and enforcement.
- Air Canada, August 18, 2025 — the airline’s estimate of customer cancellations after the CIRB ruling.
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