TORONTO — It's still not clear when Air Canada might start flying again as the flight attendants union resolved Monday to push on with a strike but the airline expressed hope that it could get planes off the ground Tuesday.
Flight attendants were supposed to stop striking Monday after the Canada Industrial Relations Board ruled the labour action unlawful, after the federal government used Section 107 of the Labour Code to force the two sides into binding arbitration.
The board had given the union until noon ET Monday to provide public notice it had ended the strike, but the union did not comply.
"We will not be returning to the skies this afternoon," said CUPE national president Mark Hancock at a press conference shortly after the deadline had passed.
Hancock said the union would press on because it was fighting not just for flight attendants, but for the right to collective bargaining.
"If it means folks like me going to jail, then so be it. If it means our union being fined, then so be it. We're looking for a solution here, our members want a solution here. But that solution has to be found at a bargaining table."
Labour leaders have cried foul on the federal government's repeated use of Section 107 to cut off workers right to strike and force them into arbitration, as the government has already done in recent years with workers at ports, railways and elsewhere.
While the union vowed to press on, Air Canada chief executive Michael Rousseau said he's still looking for a quick resolution after having to cancel between 500 and 600 flights Monday.
"We're obviously hoping we can go tomorrow, but we'll make that decision later today," said Rousseau on BNN Bloomberg shortly after the union announced it would push on with the strike.
He said the airline was caught off-guard by the union defying the order and expressed disappointment for the airline and stranded customers.
"We thought, obviously, the Section 107 would be enforced," he said.
While the airline and union push for their preferred routes forward, travellers remain in limbo.
Among them are John and Lois Alderman, who said Air Canada has told them they could be stranded in Toronto for another four to five days while they wait for a flight back home to Manchester, U.K.
"I'm a diabetic and I'm going to run out of insulin in about four days," John said at Pearson International Airport. "That's going to cause a problem."
The couple said they feel like "prisoners in the hotel" with their two teenage kids, hesitant to go sightseeing in case they get an email from the airline with a last-minute flight.
Prime Minister Mark Carney earlier Monday urged both sides to quickly resolve the situation causing major chaos for travellers, expressing disappointment that the two sides weren't able to reach a deal to avoid disrupting travel for hundreds of thousands of people.
Carney made the comments to reporters ahead of a meeting with Ontario Premier Doug Ford in Ottawa, while federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu is expected to provide a formal update later Monday.
Flight attendants went on strike early Saturday morning after talks broke down and the two sides failed to reach a deal on Friday.
Air Canada estimated Monday that some 500,000 customers’ flights have been cancelled since the strike began.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 18, 2025.
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-- With files from Craig Lord in Ottawa, Rianna Lim and Natasha Baldin in Toronto and Miriam Lafontaine in Montreal.
Ian Bickis, The Canadian Press
