Reflecting on the 2025 Historic Alberta Teachers Strike

On October 6th, 2025, history was made when 51,000 teachers across Alberta went on strike. They were primarily protesting industry conditions, like low wages, large class sizes and inadequate support. After three weeks of strike-induced empty classrooms, teachers and students returned to school following the “back-to-work” legislation passed by the Alberta government. This ended the strike’s impact on the 750,000 affected students and other stakeholders like educational assistants, bus drivers and practicum students. 

“With the strike… we were out of the classroom for three and half weeks,” says Rachael Cochrane, the President of the Concordia Student Association and a second year education student. “We were sad that the strike ended through government legislation, but we were excited to be back in our classrooms and to be with our kids again.” 

The strike was the result of unsuccessful negotiations. Teachers cited sustained low funding, large class sizes, and complex student needs as the reasons for their demands of greater classroom support and a wage increase. While the Alberta Government was willing to agree to a 12% increase over four years, and an increase of teachers and educational assistants over the next three years, the divide was still significant enough to result in job action. 

Education students, like Cochrane and Liam Frost, who were completing their practicum during the strike were impacted. “We struggled for sure over the strike but not the way that teachers are struggling every day in the classroom,” says Frost, who is both an education student and the President of the Education Student Society.

Following the extended stalemate, the Alberta UCP Government enacted a back-to-work order and invoked the Notwithstanding Clause. The Notwithstanding Clause is a portion of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms that allows governments to ignore other portions of the Charter for a specific period of time. This legislation sent the teachers back to work and Education students back to their practicums. 

Frost explains that this interrupted practicum was the last classroom experience prior to graduation. Many students were inclined to support the teachers that would soon become their colleagues: “We were passionate about it. We were at the rallies and we were busy doing our thing as teachers.”

Following the back-to-work order, there was a negative response from other unions, and there was even rumour of a general strike soon after the legislation was passed. If this general strike took place, it could conceivably include members of the transit service, health care system, and many other unions in both the private and public sectors. However, a general strike is not considered a “lawful strike” under Canadian law, and could result in fines against members if it were to happen. Recall petitions that have the potential to trigger early by-elections are also in motion for a number of UCP MLAs. Many of these petitions object to the back-to-work legislation as their reason for organizing. Additionally, the Alberta Teachers’ Association is taking the Alberta Government to court over its use of the Notwithstanding Clause. 

As for Concordia students, the anxiety about finishing their practicum is not as high as it may be for students at other universities. Concordia has designed the program to have more practicum time than is required, according to Liam Frost, “A lot of our teachers are ready to go out in the field and become teachers by now.”

Unlike some other students in the city who have to extend their practicum due to the strike, CUE students will be able to graduate without adapting their schedules. 

When asked about the Concordia Faculty of Education’s response to the challenge presented, Cochrane was mostly complementary. Though she does feel that more communication would have been helpful, she also acknowledged the unique circumstances in the strike: “I think they did a fairly good job… it’s one of those things that’s hard to navigate.” 

As we enter 2026, and many Concordia education students graduate, it will be curious to see what the educational landscape will look like as they dive into the classrooms that will house their careers for years to come.