Striking Alberta teachers, supporters flood downtown Edmonton for rally

Thousands of teachers and supporters came together in downtown Edmonton on Thursday to rally for public education as a teacher strike continues.

Striking Alberta teachers and their supporters rallied in downtown Edmonton on Thursday.

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By 11:30 a.m., thousands of people had lined 104 Avenue by Rogers Place, home of the Edmonton Oilers.

Many were wearing red in support of the strike’s “red for ed(ucation)” slogan.

“It’s important that teachers know that they’ve got our support,” said Dan Gallant, a step-dad to a high school student.

“It shows that no matter what the government says or what they do – like investing in licence plates instead of helping with a strike – there’s always going to be people who will show where their priorities are and where the government should invest,” added another supporter, Eoghan, referring to Wednesday’s news that Alberta was introducing new licence plate designs.

The rally participants marched through Ice District for about two hours.

Some carried signs that called out Premier Danielle Smith, like, “W.T.F. Where’s the funding, Dani?” and “Marlaina’s lesson plan: Starve the system; blame the teachers.”

Meanwhile, the premier delivered a state of the province address at an Edmonton Chamber of Commerce event inside Rogers Place’s Ford Hall. Noise from the rally was audible inside the building.

“There’s obviously been some issues and challenges in managing some of the growth that we’ve had in the last three years. There’s clearly some issues and challenges in ensuring that there’s enough education assistants able to address complexity, and we’ve been trying to address all of those things,” Smith told reporters after the event.

“It’s really up to the (Alberta Teachers’ Association) to tell us a little bit more about what they need.”

At the event, Edmonton Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Doug Griffiths said he’s heard from businesses that are struggling as some workers have to stay home to watch their children who are out of school.

“We really just hope, for the sake of the entire Edmonton business community and its citizens, that we get this resolved as soon as possible,” said Griffiths.

Alberta’s 50,000 teachers have been out of the classroom since Oct. 6.

Their contract expired Aug. 31, 2024.

The province and teachers’ union remain “a way’s apart,” Alberta’s finance minister said on Wednesday. The Alberta Teachers’ Association said the government is ignorant of deep-rooted problems in the school system, while the government called the ATA’s latest proposal unrealistic.

“Two years ago, I had 37 Grade 4 (students) in my class, 10 kids with special needs in the same class, and no full-time support for that,” teacher Naomi Halcrow told CTV News Edmonton on Thursday at the rally.

“I think it is really important that we stand up for teachers, we stand up for kids, we stand up for Alberta.”

“We need more funding, we need class cap sizes now. This is what we’re here for. Not for me, nor for my money. It’s for our kids and our future,” added another teacher, Karen Wisheu.

The teachers at the rally said it has been hard being away from their students and not receiving pay, but the public rallies have been necessary.

“I feel like we’ve been able to take this time for the public to understand what is happening in education in this province,” said Laurel Nikolai. “It keeps getting harder and harder and it’s reached a breaking point. So thank you to all the public, too, that’s been on our side.”

Alberta’s finance minister has said the province will consider back-to-work legislation if teachers are still striking at the end of the month when the next legislature session begins.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Gates Guarin, Connor Hogg and Angela Amato