The quiet October morning that would normally buzz with school buses and morning announcements instead saw empty classrooms across Alberta today. More than 46,000 teachers began a provincewide strike after months of failed negotiations with Premier Danielle Smith’s government over classroom sizes, support for special needs students, and what union leaders call “respect for the profession.”
Parents scrambled to find childcare solutions while educators formed picket lines outside schools from Fort McMurray to Lethbridge. The Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) announced the strike would continue indefinitely until the government addresses their core concerns.
“We didn’t want to be here,” said Jason Schilling, ATA president, while standing with teachers outside Edmonton’s Harry Ainlay High School. “But when you have classrooms with 38 students, including several with complex needs and no educational assistants, we’re not just fighting for better working conditions—we’re fighting for Alberta’s children.”
The strike affects nearly 700,000 students across the province and comes after three years of increasingly strained relations between teachers and the provincial government.
At the heart of the dispute is the government’s Education Affordability Act, passed last spring, which critics say effectively caps education spending while student populations continue to grow. The legislation removed classroom size caps that had been negotiated in previous collective agreements.
“My daughter’s Grade 3 class has 34 students with one teacher and no support staff,” said Melissa Johnston, a Calgary parent who joined teachers on the picket line. “How is any child supposed to get the attention they need in that environment? I’m inconvenienced today, but I understand why they’re striking.”
Education Minister Matt Jones defended the government’s position at a press conference this morning, pointing to what he called “generous offers” rejected by the union.
“Alberta teachers remain among the highest-paid in Canada,” Jones said. “We’ve offered a 3% wage increase over three years while managing a difficult fiscal situation. The ATA’s demands would cost taxpayers an additional $1.2 billion annually that simply isn’t available.”
The strike comes as recently released standardized test scores show Alberta students falling behind in math and reading compared to pre-pandemic levels. The government has suggested these results demonstrate the need for their “back-to-basics” education reforms, while teachers argue the data proves their point about overcrowded classrooms and inadequate resources.
According to Statistics Canada figures released this summer, Alberta’s student-to-teacher ratio has increased by nearly 12% since 2019, now standing at 23.8 students per teacher—the highest in the country.
The political stakes couldn’t be higher for Premier Smith, whose United Conservative Party has been trailing the NDP in recent polls. Her government has hinted it may introduce back-to-work legislation if the strike extends beyond two weeks, a move that would likely face court challenges.
Jason Kenney, former premier and now political commentator, criticized both sides on his weekly podcast. “Teachers have legitimate concerns, but shutting down education province-wide during a period when our kids are still catching up from COVID disruptions seems counterproductive,” Kenney said.
The opposition NDP has thrown its support behind the teachers. “This government created this crisis by refusing to provide stable funding for education while our classrooms grow more complex every year,” said Rachel Notley, opposition leader, during a visit to a picket line in Red Deer.
For communities outside major urban centers, the strike highlights existing inequities. In rural Drumheller, where substitute teachers were already in short supply, school board chair Ellen Thompson expressed concern about long-term impacts.
“When this eventually ends, we’ll have an even harder time attracting teachers to rural communities where we already struggle to fill positions,” Thompson said during a town hall meeting last night.
The strike has garnered support from other public sector unions, with nurses and public employees joining picket lines during lunch breaks. The Alberta Federation of Labour announced a solidarity fund to support striking teachers if the job action extends beyond two weeks.
Parent groups appear divided, with some supporting teachers while others express frustration at the timing. The Alberta School Councils’ Association reports receiving hundreds of calls from concerned parents unsure how to manage work obligations while children remain home.
As temperatures dropped to near freezing this morning, teachers warmed themselves with coffee donated by local businesses. In Edmonton’s Ritchie neighborhood, Madeleine Fraser, a 29-year veteran teacher, summarized the mood: “Nobody wants to be standing out here in the cold instead of teaching. But sometimes you have to take a difficult stand for what’s right.”
With no negotiations currently scheduled, both sides appear to be digging in for what could become the longest education disruption in Alberta’s history.
