In a dramatic turn of events that has rippled across continents and disrupted the summer travel plans of hundreds of thousands, the Canadian government moved swiftly on August 16, 2025, to force Air Canada’s striking flight attendants back to work and into binding arbitration. The decision, announced less than 12 hours after more than 10,000 flight attendants walked off the job, followed a night of tense negotiations and mounting chaos at airports worldwide.
The walkout, which began in the early hours of Saturday, saw Air Canada—the nation’s largest airline and flag carrier—suspend all operations, grounding its roughly 700 daily flights. According to the Associated Press, this left an estimated 130,000 passengers stranded each day and some 25,000 Canadians stuck far from home. The strike, triggered by a bitter contract dispute over pay and scheduling, could not have come at a worse time: peak summer travel season, when flights are packed and airports bustling with families, business travelers, and tourists alike.
Federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu, speaking to reporters on Saturday afternoon, defended the government’s intervention. “The impact of the work stoppage at Air Canada that began early this morning is already being felt by travelers. This is causing significant harm and has negative impacts on Canadians and the Canadian economy,” she said, as reported by The New York Times. Hajdu noted that Air Canada transports over 40% of the country’s critical goods—including pharmaceuticals and organ tissue—raising the stakes far beyond mere inconvenience for vacationers.
Hajdu ordered the Canada Industrial Relations Board to impose binding arbitration, extending the existing collective agreement until an arbitrator determines a new one. However, she cautioned that the full resumption of services could take days. Air Canada’s Chief Operating Officer Mark Nasr warned that even after a deal is reached, it might take up to a week—or even ten days, according to some reports—to fully restart operations and return to normalcy.
The union representing the flight attendants, the Air Canada Component of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), was quick to condemn the government’s move. Wesley Lesosky, president of the Air Canada group of CUPE, accused the Liberal government of violating workers’ constitutional rights. “The Liberals are violating our charter rights to take job action and giving Air Canada exactly what they want—hours and hours of unpaid labor from underpaid flight attendants,” Lesosky said in a statement, as quoted by The New York Times.
Protests erupted outside Toronto Pearson International Airport, where hundreds of striking flight attendants and supporters gathered, chanting slogans like “Shame on you, Patty Hajdu” and “We won’t stop.” Demonstrators, many affiliated with CUPE, made their frustrations clear. “Say it loud, say it proud. Unpaid work is not allowed!” they shouted, as captured by NBC News. The union argues that Air Canada’s flight attendants—about 70% of whom are women—are paid only for the hours planes are in the air, not for the substantial time spent on the ground preparing flights, boarding passengers, or handling post-flight duties. This pay structure, they say, is outdated and unfair, especially as some U.S. airlines have begun compensating for ground work in recent years.
The contract dispute had been simmering for about eight months before erupting into a full-blown strike. At the heart of the standoff are issues of pay and compensation for unpaid work. Air Canada’s latest offer included a 38% increase in total compensation—including benefits and pensions—over four years. However, the union rejected the initial 8% raise in the first year as insufficient given rising inflation and the cost of living. Natasha Stea, a flight attendant and local union president, expressed the sentiment of many workers before the government stepped in: “We are heartbroken for our passengers. Nobody wants to see Canadians stranded or anxious about their travel plans, but we cannot work for free.”
For travelers, the disruption has been nothing short of a nightmare. Passengers like Jean-Nicolas Reyt, an associate professor at McGill University, found themselves stranded abroad with little information from the airline. “What’s stressful is to not hear anything from Air Canada,” Reyt told the Associated Press from Cannes, France, as he tried to get back to Montreal. Jennifer MacDonald of Halifax detailed the ordeal her family faced after a canceled connection left relatives scrambling for hotels and alternative flights, turning a simple layover into a multi-day, multi-thousand-dollar saga. “It will be a multiday ordeal and a multi thousand dollar trip,” MacDonald said, though she added her family still supports the flight attendants’ cause.
Air Canada, for its part, has urged affected customers not to go to the airport unless they have a confirmed ticket on another airline. Passengers whose flights were booked on or before August 15 for travel on August 16 or 17 can request a full refund or opt for a travel credit, the company announced. The airline is also attempting to rebook passengers—including on partner airlines within the Star Alliance network—but warned that availability is extremely limited due to the summer travel rush. United Airlines, one of Air Canada’s Star Alliance partners, issued a travel waiver and is working with customers to manage disruptions.
Airport authorities, including the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, have mobilized staff to assist passengers and minimize chaos. “Airport staff will be on-site to assist passengers, and we are working closely with Air Canada and our terminal partners to ensure necessary resources are in place,” the Port Authority said in a statement.
The government’s intervention has drawn both praise and criticism. The Business Council of Canada and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce welcomed the move, arguing that the economic and social costs of prolonged disruption were too high. “With valuable cargo grounded and passengers stranded, the government made the right decision to refer the two sides to binding arbitration,” said Matthew Holmes, executive vice president of the Chamber of Commerce, as reported by the Associated Press.
But labor experts and union leaders warn that repeated government interventions in transportation strikes—this being the 45th since 1950, according to Carleton University’s Ian Lee—risk undermining workers’ bargaining power. The Supreme Court of Canada has affirmed workers’ right to strike, but the federal government has not hesitated to use arbitration to end walkouts, sometimes drawing legal challenges from unions such as the Teamsters.
Minister Hajdu rejected accusations that the government is anti-union, insisting, “We believe that unions are an essential part of a healthy and growing economy. In the case of this strike it is clear that they are at an impasse, and it is very clear they need some help in arbitrating the final items.”
As the Canada Industrial Relations Board reviews the case and travelers wait anxiously for flights to resume, the broader questions of labor rights, fair compensation, and the essential role of air travel in Canada’s vast landscape remain front and center. For now, the skies above Canada are quieter, but the debate on the ground over workers’ rights and government intervention is only growing louder.
