99 per cent of Alberta teachers urge for formal strike vote

Teachers in Alberta could take strike action after 99 per cent voted "yes" in a strike authorization vote.

Nearly 38,000 teachers cast online ballots between May 22 and 26 to determine a strike authorization vote. Almost all of them voted in favour.

A statement from the Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) released Tuesday said that 99 per cent of its members want to go to a formal strike vote after collective agreement negotiations between the ATA and the province’s Teachers’ Employer Bargaining Association came to a standstill earlier this month.

“Teachers are standing united in demanding respect and recognition for the challenges they experience in today’s classrooms,” said ATA president Jason Schilling in a statement. “Settling for anything less than tangible solutions will not be tolerated.”

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Strike authorization votes are typically held to gauge the sentiments of a union. After the vote has been conducted, it is up to the ATA’s Provincial Executive Council to go to a strike vote or not.

If a formal strike vote passes, teachers have 120 days to take action unless a resolution is made between the province and the ATA during that time.

Some of the ATA’s demands include wage increases and supports to address complex needs in crowded classrooms.

Earlier this month, the ATA rejected a mediator’s recommendations for a new provincial collective agreement that would include a general wage increase of three per cent per year, a process teachers could go through dealing with classroom complexities and $400 million in classroom improvements.

• Teachers across Alberta reject mediator’s recommendation for new provincial collective agreement

“The ATA’s membership recently rejected an offer that was endorsed by its leadership and recommended by a mediator,” said the Ministry of Treasury Board and Finance in a statement. “We are waiting to hear from the ATA on what teachers are looking for and why about 60 per cent of those voting did not endorse the deal.”

After Budget 2025 was tabled in February, the ATA said the $9.9 billion wasn’t enough to address the issues in Alberta schools.

• $9.9B not enough to save school system ‘at a breaking point’, says ATA

According to the ATA, provincial funding needed to increase by 15.8 per cent to bring funding closer to the national average.

The national average is about $10-a-day per student. The ATA said the 2025 budget allows for $3.57-per student per-day.

The previous agreement expired on Aug. 31, 2024.