| 2025 Alberta teachers' strike | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|   People rallying at the Alberta Legislature Building on strike | |||
| Date | October 6, 2025 – October 29, 2025 (3 weeks and 2 days) | ||
| Location |  Alberta, Canada | ||
| Caused by | Disagreements over the terms of a new labour contract | ||
| Goals | Increased pay, class-size reduction, and additional employee benefits | ||
| Resulted in | 
 | ||
| Parties | |||
| Lead figures | |||
| Jason Schilling | |||
| Units involved | |||
| 51,000 teachers United Conservative Party caucus | |||
The 2025 Alberta teachers' strike was a public education teachers' strike and labour dispute that took place across Alberta, Canada. The labour strike affected the province's education system, resulting in a learning pause from October 6, 2025 to October 29, 2025.
The strike, organized by the Alberta Teachers' Association (ATA), was the result of multiple disagreements with the Government of Alberta over the terms of a new labour contract.
The strike was announced on September 29, 2025, after an offer by the government was declined. [1] The strike began on October 6, 2025, consisting of 51,000 teachers off-work and initiating strike action. [2] [3] Due to the strike, all public education classes were cancelled, impacting 730,000 students, [4] [5] [6] and 2,500 public, separate, and francophone schools. [7]
On October 7, 2025, the government issued a lockout of all staff. [8] Alberta's premier, Danielle Smith, ordered teachers to work on October 29, which follows the passage of the Back to School Act (Bill 2). [9] [10] Teachers are not permitted to use strike action until August 31st, 2028, when the contract is repealed. [11]
 
 The ATA is seeking better working conditions, and increased pay, and class-size reduction. [12] Many schools reported classrooms with unreasonable capacity, with classrooms over 40 students. [13] Underfunding for education in Alberta was also considered to be a key contributor to the dispute. By the time of the strike, spending per K-12 student was $13,494 in Alberta, one of the lowest among all provinces in Canada. [14] [15] [16] Alberta also ranked highest in percentage of per-student funding to independent private schools. [17]
After the strike announcement, multiple rallies across Alberta were organized (primarily in Calgary and Edmonton), [18] mainly to support educators. [19] Notable rallies were organized, including on October 5, 2025, which occurred at the Alberta Legislature Building, where thousands of people attended, and on October 23rd, 2025 at the same location. [20] [21] [22]
Gil McGowan, president of the Alberta Labour Union held a press conference following the passing of Bill 2, saying "We will begin the process of organizing towards a potential general strike". [23] He was joined by leaders from the provinces' other major unions, forming a collective known as the Common Front.
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