by Jen Mallia
Last updated: 4:45 PM ET, Thu March 26, 2026
What was supposed to be a sombre message from the President and CEO of Air Canada, Michael Rousseau, has become a lightning rod over language rights in Canada. On March 23, Rousseau issued a message on social media, expressing condolences to the families and friends of the pilots who died, and providing some details about the crash of an Air Canada Express flight AC8646 at LaGuardia airport. The statement was in English, with French subtitles.
The fact that Rousseau, who has already been chastised by the federal government for not addressing the public in both official languages, did not speak in French, particularly when addressing the death of a Quebecois pilot, has raised the ire of some Canadians, including the Prime Minister.
“I’m very disappointed, as others are — rightly so — in this unilingual message of the CEO of Air Canada. It doesn’t matter the circumstances but particularly in these circumstances: a lack of judgment and a lack of compassion,” Prime Minister Mark Carney told reporters on Thursday morning, in French and English.
“We live in a bilingual country. Companies like Air Canada, particularly, have a responsibility to always communicate in both official languages, regardless of the situation.”
Rousseau has been summoned to appear before the House of Commons standing committee on official languages.
It won’t be the first time. Rousseau was also summoned to the standing committee in 2021 after making a 26-minute long speech to the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal, of which only around 20 seconds was in French. The Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages received more than 2,600 complaints.
At the time, then-deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland wrote a letter to Air Canada’s board of directors, urging that “its CEO improve his French and that his knowledge of the language be included in his annual performance review.”
She also asked that knowledge of French “become an important criterion for securing promotions at the airline,” as the airline is subject to the Official Languages Act.
In response to the latest language incident, Rousseau issued an apology, reading in full:
“I want to reiterate my deepest condolences to the families of the Jazz Captain and First Officer who tragically lost their lives, and recognize the profound impact this accident has had on our employees and customers. Air Canada is cooperating fully with U.S. and Canadian authorities in the investigation.
As President and Chief Executive Officer of Air Canada, it is my duty to support those affected by this tragedy. I am deeply saddened that my inability to speak French has diverted attention from the profound grief of the families and the great resilience of Air Canada’s employees, who have demonstrated outstanding professionalism despite the events of the past few days.
Despite many lessons over several years, unfortunately, I am still unable to express myself adequately in French. I sincerely apologize for this, but I am continuing my efforts to improve.
I am also very grateful to those who have given the very best of themselves throughout the last few days to take care of our customers and each other while coping with the weight of this tragedy and I have been moved by the messages of support received from so many people who have reached out to express their thoughts for those impacted by Sunday's tragic accident.”
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