by Jen Mallia
Last updated: 9:10 AM ET, Mon March 30, 2026
Air Canada has announced the pending retirement of president and CEO Michael Rousseau. He will continue to lead the company and to serve on its Board until the third quarter of 2026, when he will retire.
Rousseau recently came under fire following an English-only address to the public regarding the Air Canada crash at LaGuardia, resulting in his being called to Ottawa to answer to the House of Commons standing committee on official languages.
At the time, Prime Minister Mark Carney had harsh words for Rousseau and Air Canada. “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 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,” said Carney.
The English-only message (which carried French subtitles when posted) was particularly poorly-received because one of the pilots killed in the crash was Quebecois.
Rousseau issued an apology shortly after the firestorm hit, stating in an open letter, “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.”
Less than a week later, Rousseau has announced his retirement. Transition planning has already begun, with an “internal candidate development program” for “high potential executives” having been in place over the last two years.
According to the announcement, an external global search was also commenced in January 2026 to “identify potential additional candidates with the skills, and experience to lead Canada’s national airline.”
The announcement also noted that the Board will consider a number of performance criteria in assessing candidates including the ability to communicate in French. Rousseau says he looks forward to supporting the company during the transition period.
“On behalf of the entire Board, I want to thank Mike for his many contributions to Air Canada as he progressed from Chief Financial Officer to Deputy CEO and then to CEO and Board member,” said Vagn Sørensen, Chair of the Board of Directors. “We are grateful for the determined leadership he has provided not only in steering our company through the 2007-2008 financial crisis, COVID and other challenges, but also in capturing opportunities such as the acquisition of Aeroplan, in restoring the solvency of our pension plans and in advancing customer centricity and employee well-being priorities.”
Rousseau will be recognized further at the upcoming AGM, set to take place in Vancouver on May 1, 2026.
Topics From This Article to Explore
