October 20, 2025
RED FM News Desk
As around 750,000 Alberta students enter a third week without classes due to the ongoing teachers’ strike, the provincial government’s threat to force educators back to work is drawing sharp criticism from a labour relations expert.
Jason Foster, a professor at Athabasca University, warned that legislating teachers back into classrooms without resolving core issues may only deepen tensions in the long term.
“Instead of trying to resolve the conflict, they (the government) use a get-out-of-jail-free card to end it,” Foster said Sunday. “It creates more problems… Teachers feel less respected and unheard.”
Premier Danielle Smith said Friday that if the strike continues when the legislature reconvenes on Oct. 27, teachers should “fully expect” to be ordered back to work.
“We think that three weeks is about the limit of what students can handle before we’d start seeing irreparable harm,” she said.
The strike began on Oct. 6, when 51,000 teachers walked off the job, closing about 2,500 schools across Alberta. At issue are wage increases, classroom size limits, and supports for students with complex needs.
The Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) and the government haven’t formally returned to the bargaining table since the walkout began. Finance Minister Nate Horner criticized the union for rejecting enhanced mediation and refusing to reopen schools.
“Students have missed out on learning, sports, personal development, and social interaction,” Horner said. “Our next steps will focus on getting them back to class.”
The government has offered a 12% wage increase over four years and to hire 3,000 new teachers. But the union’s latest proposal would require $2 billion more than the $2.6 billion allocated by the government — a figure Horner called unaffordable.
ATA President Jason Schilling said teachers remain open to good-faith negotiations but called the government’s mediation terms “insulting” for excluding class-size limits. Still, he didn’t rule out ending the strike if the government revises its offer.
Asked if teachers might defy a legislated return to work, Schilling said, “All options would be on the table.”
Foster noted that this isn’t the first time Alberta has legislated teachers back on the job. A similar move happened during the 2002 province-wide strike under then-premier Ralph Klein, who followed it with an education commission, a move Smith has also floated. However, Foster added that the recommendations from that commission, including smaller class sizes, were never implemented and are still central to today’s dispute.
The ongoing strike has had ripple effects: school food programs are halted, students applying to university are stressed, and many parents and businesses are feeling the strain. The online learning content provided by the province has also come under fire for being disorganized and confusing.
Despite the standoff, the ATA reiterated Sunday it is “open to meeting with [the government] to bargain in good faith.”
Horner’s office did not respond to questions about the status of bargaining over the weekend.
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