Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu to provide update on Air Canada labour dispute

By Canadian Press on August 16, 2025.

OTTAWA — Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu is holding a news conference on Parliament Hill today to provide Canadians with an update on the Air Canada strike.

Passengers around the world are feeling the effects after the union representing more than 10,000 flight attendants with Air Canada announced its members were walking off the job after it was unable to reach an eleventh-hour deal with the airline.

The strike officially began just before 1 a.m. ET on Saturday and in turn, Air Canada locked out its agents about 30 minutes later due to the strike action.

On Friday Hajdu urged the airline company and the union representing its flight attendants to get back to the negotiating table.

In an interview with The Canadian Press, Hajdu said it’s “critical” that the two parties “return to the table” to forge a deal on their own.

Air Canada and business advocacy groups have called on the government to order binding arbitration to settle the dispute.

– With files from Sammy Hudes in Toronto

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 16, 2025.

Kyle Duggan, The Canadian Press

12
-11