Air Canada Flight Attendants Reject Deal; No Strike Planned

Air Canada flight attendants have voted against ratifying a tentative agreement reached last month between the airline and the Canadian Union of Public Employees’ (CUPE) Air Canada component.

The deal, announced on August 19, 2025, included wage increases, pension and benefit improvements, and updated compensation for ground duties. CUPE said at the time that the agreement was achieved without concessions from the union.

In a statement on Saturday, CUPE confirmed that Air Canada flight attendants have overwhelmingly rejected the tentative agreement reached with the airline.

According to CUPE, 99.1% of members voted against the deal, with just 0.9% in favour. Voter turnout was reported at 94.6%.

Air Canada emphasized that operations will not be affected. “The parties also agreed that no labour disruption could be initiated, and therefore there will be no strike or lock-out, and flights will continue to operate,” the airline said.

Under the terms agreed to in August, the wage portion of the agreement will now move to mediation. If mediation fails, the matter will be referred to arbitration.

Air Canada said it is “fully committed to the mediation and arbitration process.”

“The negotiations period has been challenging for all Air Canada stakeholders. We deeply appreciate the patience and the confidence our customers have shown as we worked through this process. We thank all of our employees for their dedication during this time,” the airline added.

Topics From This Article to Explore