Air Canada Ops remain suspended, Ottawa orders binding arbitration

Canada government has forced Air Canada and its striking flight attendants back to work and into arbitration Saturday after a work stoppage stranded more than 100,000 travelers around the world during the peak summer travel season. Federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu said now is not the time to take risks with the economy, noting the unprecedented tariffs the U.S. has imposed on Canada. “The talks broke down. It is clear that the parties are not any closer to resolving some of the key issues that remain and they will need help with the arbitrator,” Hajdu told a news conference on Saturday in Ottawa. Hadju invoked Section 107 of the Canada Labour Code to bring the parties to the table.Hajdu ordered the Canada Industrial Relations Board to extend the term of the existing collective agreement until a new one is determined by the arbitrator. “Canadians rely on air travel every day, and its importance cannot be understated,” she said. Hajdu maintained that her Liberal government is not anti-union, saying it is clear the two sides are at an impasse.

Meanwhile, Wesley Lesosky, president of the Air Canada Component of the CUPE union, accused the government of violating the flight attendants’ constitutional right to strike — and decried Hajdu for only waiting hours to intervene. “The Liberal government is rewarding Air Canada’s refusal to negotiate fairly by giving them exactly what they wanted,” Lesosky said. Unifor condemns the federal government’s attack on CUPE flight attendants’ right to strike.

Unifor condemns the federal government’s attack on CUPE flight attendants’ right to strike—and on free, fair collective bargaining. #canlab #aircanada https://t.co/JcZ4Nxwt9s

— Unifor (@UniforTheUnion) August 16, 2025

The shutdown of Canada’s largest airline early Saturday is impacting about 130,000 people a day, and some 25,000 Canadians may be stranded. Air Canada operates around 700 flights per day. According to information, Air Canada had canceled a total of 671 flights by Saturday afternoon — following 199 on Friday. And another 96 flights scheduled for Sunday were already suspended.