LOCATION: National
ISSUE/SOURCE: Labour Disruptions in the Transportation Sector
DATE: July 2025
SUGGESTED RESPONSES
- Transport Canada continues to closely monitor labour negotiations across the transportation sector and remains hopeful that resolutions can be reached in advance of any work stoppages, to help maintain the fluidity of Canada’s supply chains.
- Ensuring that essential goods reach Canadians as quickly as possible is a top priority for the Government of Canada. Resilient and efficient supply chains are not only critical to ensuring the competitiveness of Canadian businesses, but also for the daily lives of Canadians.
- Everyone — the employer(s), the union(s), the mediators and the Government of Canada — understands the urgency to resolve disputes as quickly as possible as Canadians and our international partners rely on efficient supply chains.
IF PRESSED
- Transport Canada will continue to work closely with counterparts at Employment and Social Development Canada, the lead department on this issue.
- In the event of a work stoppage, Transport Canada would continue to enforce safety requirements and maintain regular contact with any transportation companies, whose operations could be affected to assess potential impacts, and ensure compliance with regulatory and legislative requirements, at all times.
- The Government of Canada respects and has confidence in the collective bargaining process and strongly encourages parties to work together to reach resolutions as early as possible.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Labour Negotiations
- Transport Canada is closely following several labour negotiations in the transportation sector that could potentially have an impact on our economy.
- As of July 2025, these include cabin crew at Air Canada, pilots from Air Transat, and security services at several international and regional airports across Canada.
- These negotiations add further uncertainty to a global and domestic economic situation already strained from trade uncertainty, forcing Canadian supply chains to adapt at greater cost and efforts.
- This uncertainty also follows repeated major labour disruptions in Canada that have severely impacted the economy: the lockout of both Class 1 railways in August 2024; the work stoppages at both the West Coast ports and the Port of Montreal in fall 2024; and the longshoremen strike in the U.S. east and gulf coasts in fall 2024.
Industrial Inquiry Commission labour disputes at Canada’s West Coast ports
- In April 2024, the Minister of Labour announced a commission to assess the underlying issues in longshoring labour disputes at Canada’s West Coast ports. These ports are vital to Canada’s supply chains, and the scale of recent disruptions was a burden on many businesses causing cascading impacts to the Canadian economy.
- The Commission presented its findings in May 2025. The report recommends:
- preserving the right to strike;
- introducing special mediator provisions;
- establishing a BC-wide bargaining unit for longshore workers;
- creating a new collective bargaining framework led by a union council;
- enacting supporting legislation; and
- maintaining existing internal governance structures.