Air Canada flight attendants, represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) hold a picket at one of four airports to highlight their pay demands in contract negotiations with Canada’s largest airline, outside Toronto Pearson International Airport in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada August 11, 2025.
Carlos Osorio | Reuters
Canadian Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu on Thursday urged Air Canada and the union representing its flight attendants to return to the bargaining table to reach a deal that could avert a strike set to start this Saturday.
A spokesperson for the Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents the carrier’s 10,000 flight attendants, said Air Canada negotiators have not returned to bargaining and have not responded to a proposal they made earlier this week.
“We believe the company wants the federal government to intervene and bail them out,” a CUPE spokesperson told Reuters.
The union added that Air Canada has “been completely missing in action from the bargaining table since Tuesday evening, despite a looming shutdown.”
In a statement, Hajdu also said Air Canada had asked her to refer the dispute to binding arbitration.
She said she had asked the union to respond to this request. CUPE has previously said it opposes binding arbitration and wants a negotiated settlement.
Air Canada was not immediately available for comment.
The Montreal-based company said on Wednesday it would be cancelling flights from Thursday, as the country’s largest carrier winds down service through Saturday.
FlightAware data shows Air Canada has, thus far, cancelled only four flights as of Thursday morning.
A strike would hit the country’s tourism sector during the height of summer travel. Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge carry about 130,000 customers a day.
Air Canada is also the foreign carrier with the largest number of flights to the U.S.
U.S. carrier United Airlines, a code share partner of Air Canada, said it is working with customers to get them to their destinations and has issued a travel waiver to help them manage their travel plans.
