Province moves to end strike
Students out of class since Oct. 6 as union seeked smaller classes, supports and fair pay
The province has introduced legislation to order Alberta’s teachers back to work, aiming to end a province wide strike that began on October 6 and kept roughly 750,000 students out of classrooms.
The Alberta Teachers’ Association said the plan, called the Bill 2 Back to School Act, would shut down legal job action rather than address the conditions that led teachers to walk off the job.
“Teachers remain ready to work with the government to fix what’s broken, but this government has chosen confrontation over cooperation,” ATA president Jason Schilling said in a statement.
About 51,000 teachers have been off the job across public, separate and francophone schools since October 6. Global News and Canadian Press reporting place the student impact at about 750,000 across more than 2,500 schools.
Talks have centred on class size and classroom complexity, additional supports for students and wages. The government’s latest public offer included a 12 per cent wage increase over four years and a pledge to hire 3,000 teachers, while the education minister has said class size caps are off the table. The union maintains caps and supports are essential to a deal.
Teachers delivered a strong strike mandate in June, with 94.5 per cent voting in favour. After a tentative memorandum of agreement was reached in September, 89.5 per cent of voting members rejected it between September 27 and 29, clearing the path to the October 6 walkout.
On October 9, the Teachers’ Employer Bargaining Association issued a lockout notice, and divisions advised families that classes would remain cancelled while the dispute continued. Several boards, including Calgary Board of Education and Edmonton Catholic, told parents to watch for updates as legislation loomed.
As the strike stretched into mid and late October, the province signalled it would bring in a back to work bill if no settlement was reached. The legislature returned last week, and the premier said teachers could fully expect to be ordered back without a deal.
Some measures have been taken to reduce disruption, including making November diploma exams optional, while parents and students waited on clarity about a return to class.
Polling suggested many Albertans sided with teachers on the need to improve classroom conditions and supports. An Angus Reid study released October 14 found three in five respondents rated the government’s handling of education poorly.
With a back to work order now before the legislature, the government said Bill 2, the Back to School Act, would end the teachers’ strike by legislating the September 2025 tentative terms, including a 12 per cent salary increase over four years, market adjustments for most teachers and hiring 3,000 teachers and 1,500 educational assistants. Families were advised to follow division labour updates for timelines on resuming classes and any transition plans for a return. The province said classes could resume as early as Wednesday, October 29.