The Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) has officially issued a strike notice for October 6, 2025, escalating a high-stakes bargaining standoff with the Teachers’ Employer Bargaining Association (TEBA) and the Provincial Government. Unless a negotiated settlement is reached before that date, schools across Alberta could face a full work stoppage.
Key Issues and Offers
According to ATA President Jason Schilling, the union’s demands are straightforward: fair compensation for teachers, properly funded classrooms, reasonable workloads, and adequate supports for students. He maintains that teachers are being forced to do more with less while dealing with years of underfunding, rising inflation, and overloaded classrooms.
The government’s current proposal includes a 12 per cent salary increase over four years, along with the recruitment of 3,000 new teachers over three years, and a commitment to invest in new school infrastructure. The ATA has rejected that offer, arguing it does not meet the realities of inflation, nor address broader working-conditions issues such as class size, supports, and resources.
In a statement, Finance Minister Nate Horner expressed disappointment about the ATA using the possibility of a strike “as leverage” and criticized the union for announcing the October 6 date before meaningful negotiations had resumed. The government has also filed a complaint with Alberta’s Labour Relations Board, claiming that some of the ATA’s public communications contain false claims—specifically, the suggestion that TEBA lacks the mandate to bargain around class size, class complexity, or supports for students.
Schilling countered that the claim teachers are “sacrificing students’ learning conditions for salary” is insulting, insisting the two objectives are intertwined. For him, the issue has gone beyond pay: it’s also about respect, sustainable workloads, and ensuring the system retains and attracts quality teachers.
Background & Support
Earlier this year, in June 2025, teachers overwhelmingly voted in favour of strike action: around 94-95 per cent of ATA members supported the measure in a strike authorization vote. This gives the association the legal ability to initiate walkout if a contract is not settled.
On the employer side, TEBA had also taken steps toward contingency measures: a lockout vote was authorized in late August.
Many school divisions have begun to prepare for possible impacts. Some plan to suspend all classes, cancel extracurriculars, halt transportation services, and more if the strike proceeds full scale on October 6. Families are being advised to make alternative arrangements.
What’s Next
With the October 6 deadline fast approaching, several paths remain possible:
TEBA and the government could return to the bargaining table with a revised offer that better addresses classroom supports and teacher workload.
The ATA may engage in further public pressure, through media, advocacy or legal channels, especially in response to the government’s complaints to the Labour Relations Board.
If no agreement is reached, the strike will proceed, leading to significant disruption for students, parents, and education system operations province-wide. Schools, divisions, and boards are already issuing notices and updates in anticipation.
Implications
The possible strike is about more than wages—it forces attention to long-standing concerns in Alberta’s public education sector: inflation-eroded salaries, classroom sizes, mental and material resources, and teacher retention.
For families and students, the uncertainty adds pressure: how to adjust daily life, maintain learning, and manage extra costs if alternatives emerge. For the system, a work stoppage could amplify teacher shortages, disrupt school operations, and strain already limited resources.
As the clock ticks toward October 6, all eyes are on whether the Alberta government and the ATA can find common ground—or whether the province’s classrooms will fall silent pending the resolution.
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