Workers at iconic B.C. hotel serve strike notice ahead of FIFA World Cup's arrival

The Fairmont Empress Hotel, in Victoria, B.C. (Fairmont Empress)

VICTORIA — Workers at a renowned British Columbia hotel have served strike notice in what is the latest in a series of labour actions taken as the province prepares to welcome World Cup travellers later this month.

Unifor Local 4276 says its members at the Fairmont Empress Hotel in Victoria have notified their employer that picket lines could go up as soon as Saturday.

The group says the notice comes with little movement at the bargaining table even as its members voted 99 per cent in favour of job action on April 1.

The union represents those in housekeeping, maintenance, banquet events and other departments at the Empress, a historic luxury hotel that opened in 1908 on Victoria’s harbourfront and serves as one of the city’s most iconic attractions.

The threat is one of many recent possible disruptions or strike votes in B.C. taken by unions ahead of the FIFA World Cup games starting June 13 in Vancouver.

Since mid-May, workers in B.C.’s 911 call centre, Metro Vancouver and Victoria’s transit operators and Lower Mainland SPCA animal welfare workers have all voted in favour of authorizing job action, while more than 700 Metro Vancouver outside workers conduct rotating strike action.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 3, 2026.