Alberta Schools Prepare to Resume Classes After Back-to-Work Order Legislation Passes

A school bus drives down a street in Montreal, on Oct. 24, 2024. The Canadian Press/Christinne Muschi

Schools across Alberta are preparing to resume classes on Oct. 29 for thousands of teachers and students after the provincial government passed back-to-work order legislation.

The Calgary Board of Education says members of the Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA), the union representing teachers in the province, will return to work on Oct. 29, noting that they will be “focused primarily on teaching and learning in classrooms.”

“Our top priority is ensuring a smooth transition back to school that supports student learning and success,” the school board said in an Oct. 28 news release.

The school board expects buses could be delayed and says extracurricular activities may be delayed, rescheduled, or cancelled. It expects a full return to “normal operations” to “take some time.”

The Edmonton Public School Board (EPSB) also says its students and teaching staff will be welcomed back to their classrooms on Oct. 29, but expects buses to run on their normal schedule.

“We understand that the past few weeks have been challenging, and we deeply appreciate your patience, flexibility and support for your children during this disruption,” the EPSB said in an Oct. 28 news release. “Our focus now is on a transition back to full-time learning and ensuring that student routines are re-established as quickly as possible.”

The Calgary Catholic School Board says it expects extracurricular activities, athletics, arts, and field trips to gradually resume in “the coming days and weeks.” It also says teachers will “take time to rebuild relationships and help students transition back to the classroom routine.”

The Edmonton Catholic School Board says extracurricular activities may be delayed, rescheduled, or cancelled as teachers’ focus will be on teaching and learning in classrooms, noting it may “take time” for schools to return to “regular routines.”

Many school boards are also making the November 2025 diploma exams optional for students due to disruptions caused by the strike. Final grades for students who choose not to do the exam will be based on their teacher-assigned grade. Schools boards say this will not affect students’ graduation or post-secondary applications.

Back to School Act

Alberta teachers went on strike on Oct. 6 after a months-long contract dispute between the ATA, which represents 51,000 educators in the province, and the Teachers’ Employer Bargaining Association, which bargains on behalf of the school boards. The ATA called for the province to address issues related to the classroom size and demanded higher salaries.

Premier Danielle Smith’s government introduced the Back to School Act on Oct. 27, and the bill passed third reading early on Oct. 28 through an accelerated process that allotted no more than one hour to each reading. The legislation invokes the notwithstanding clause to shield it from legal challenge.

With the legislation, the province brings in a 12 percent salary increase over four years, and commits to hire 3,000 more teachers and 1,500 more educational assistants. The ATA says these are not enough, and that the teachers haven’t been receiving sufficient raises in previous years.

The legislation includes hefty fines for both the ATA and its members if they were to defy the back-to-work order, reaching up to $500 per day for individuals and $500,000 per day for the union.

The ATA vowed in an Oct. 28 statement to “pursue all legal alternatives” to challenging the legislation, calling it an ”egregious assault on the collective bargaining rights of teachers and, by extension, all workers.”

The union says that although the legislation has ended the strike, it does not resolve the “underfunding and deterioration of teaching and learning conditions.”

‘Duty to Act’

Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides told the provincial legislature during the bill’s debate that the province faced an “undeniable moral imperative” to stop the three-week strike that left more than 740,000 students out of class across the province. He said the strike was harming students’ social and educational development.

In an Oct. 27 letter to parents and guardians, Smith said the decision to end the strike came after multiple attempts at bargaining with the union, including tentative offers and a mediation offer, which the union rejected.

“As Premier, I have a duty to act when the well-being of Alberta’s children is at risk,” Smith wrote. “As I’ve said before when you get to a point where irreparable harm is being caused to kids, that’s where we must draw a line. We cannot allow this strike to continue.”

ATA President Jason Schilling says the union will abide by the back-to-work order and will not engage in illegal actions such as work-to-rule, which would lead to fines. However, he says he’s urging his colleagues to rethink how they spend their voluntary time at school.

“I used to coach cross-country [running] and direct the drama play. Maybe I’m not going to direct the drama play next year,” Schilling said at an Oct. 28 press conference. “You take my rights away? Then I’m going to re-evaluate the voluntary nature of my job.”

Smith’s government has promised to address class sizes and complexities with a panel. Schilling says the union is expected to be full partners in the process.

Chandra Phillip, Paul Rowan Brian, and The Canadian Press contributed to this report.