Potential strike looms as Air Canada pilots negotiate new contract

The union representing Air Canada pilots says job action could happen next month if a new collective agreement isn’t reached.

According to the Air Line Pilots Association, the previous contract is a decade old.

Charlene Hudy, chair of the Air Canada pilot group within the ALPA, said the union wants the airline to address retirement and scheduling concerns, as well as compensation.

“We’re really asking Air Canada to modernize our collective agreement so that we are on a level playing field with our industry peers,” Hudy said. “When I compare myself to my American counterparts, they're making twice as much as me and the pilots that I represent in some cases. We need to close that gap.”

Hudy said the union served an official bargain notice to the employer in June 2023.

This past June, the union filed a notice of dispute under the Canada Labour Code and is entering the final stages of conciliation with Air Canada.

The pilots are now voting on whether to give their union a strike mandate. The ballots are set to close Thursday.

In a statement to CTV News, Air Canada said it remains in negotiations with the union, adding “We are working actively to reach agreement on the remaining issues with an aim to finalize a deal over the next several weeks.”

Duncan Dee, a former chief operating officer with Air Canada, said he thinks both parties have an incentive in reaching a deal, and that the pilots will likely receive a substantial contract.

“I would be surprised if they were not going to emerge from this latest round of contract negotiations as being the best compensated pilots in Canada,” Dee said.

He added it’s been a unique year for labour relations in the country. In July, a West Jet mechanics strike grounded thousands of flights. 

“I don’t think we should just confine ourselves to the airline sector,” Dee said. “We’re on the verge of a strike in the railway sector, another critical component of the national transportation system, and so I think that labour relations in Canada right now are very fraught.”

If a deal isn’t reached following the 21-day cooling off period, job action could begin by mid-September.