Smith government moves to end teachers’ strike, invokes Notwithstanding clause
Alberta’s teachers are striking, but Smith’s government is moving to push new back-to-work legislation that would bring kids back to the classroom and dictate the terms of a new four-year contract.
Alberta’s teachers are striking, but Premier Danielle Smith’s government is moving to push new back-to-work legislation that would bring kids back to the classroom and dictate the terms of a new four-year contract.
The proposed Back to School Act follows weeks of classroom disruptions that affected 51,000 teachers and 740,000 students. If passed, it will see students return to school as early as Wednesday.
“This strike has gone on long enough. It’s clear there’s no path forward unless we act,” said Premier Danielle Smith. “The Back to School Act refocuses everyone on what matters most, the education of Alberta’s students. Bill 2 puts students back at the centre of our system, while we continue to work with teachers and families to build lasting stability in Alberta’s schools.”
The legislation formalizes the September 2025 tentative agreement, previously rejected by the Alberta Teachers’ Association leadership. It provides a 12 per cent salary increase over four years, market adjustments up to 17 per cent for 95 per cent of teachers, and the hiring of 3,000 teachers and 1,500 educational assistants to reduce class sizes and enhance student support.
“The time for labour stability is now,” said Finance Minister Nate Horner. “This legislation provides a positive path forward despite an interrupted school year. This is a necessary step and the most responsible decision for kids, teachers and parents. If Bill 2 is passed, it is my hope that classes will resume as soon as Wednesday, October 29.”
The government said the Alberta Teachers’ Association’s last proposal demanded an additional $2 billion, which it described as “unreasonable” and “incompatible with fiscal responsibility.”
Finance Ministry officials told True North that legislating a settlement was decided only after exhausting every other option.
“The government respects Albertans’ right to peacefully express their views,” the ministry said in an exclusive comment. “The decision to introduce the Back to School Act was not taken lightly, but it is the only responsible path forward to end ongoing disruptions, close achievement gaps, and restore confidence in our education system.”
The legislation includes financial penalties for non-compliance and temporarily suspends local bargaining during the contract term to ensure labour stability through 2028. Justice Minister Mickey Amery even warned that the government is willing to invoke the notwithstanding clause to counter attempts to prolong the strike.
“We believe invoking the notwithstanding clause is a necessary measure to end the undue hardship caused by the teacher strike,” said Amery. “This strike has reached a point that is causing irreparable harm on student learning. Our government will not hesitate to use every available legal tool in defence of students.”
As part of its broader education plan, the Smith government also announced the creation of a Class Size and Complexity Task Force to address growing challenges with classroom aggression and diverse learning needs.
“Teachers have made it clear that addressing classroom complexity and safety are among the most critical improvements needed in our education system,” said Smith. “We are taking real action to meet those needs by strengthening classroom supports, hiring more teachers and educational assistants, and acting on the recommendations of the Aggression and Complexity in Schools Action Team.”
Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides said additional funding will ensure safer learning environments for students and teachers.
“No teacher should ever be harmed while doing their job,” said Nicolaides. “We know that aggressive incidents have gone up sharply in recent years, and classrooms are becoming more complex. That’s why we’re doubling down on efforts to make classrooms safer and to give extra support to students who need it.”
The province has received the draft final report from the Aggression and Complexity in Schools Action Team. The team conducted engagement sessions with teachers, school boards and disability organizations over the summer. Its recommendations will guide the new task force’s work.
Budget 2025 allocates $55 million to address classroom complexity, a 20% increase over the previous year.
With new funding, the province plans to hire 3,000 teachers and 1,500 educational assistants over the next three years, replacing the 2004 Standards for Special Education and gathering new data on classroom composition. In November, Alberta will begin collecting and publishing class-size and composition data annually.
If Bill 2 passes, it would mark the end of Alberta’s first province-wide teachers’ strike in more than two decades, restoring classroom learning and setting the stage for a broader review of how to handle classroom complexity across Alberta’s schools.
The Smith government and the Alberta teachers union had a negotiated agreement which the teachers then rejected, demanding even more money. However, at the core of the teacher's rejection of what their own union saw as a decent agreement is their utter antipathy towards the UPC government and itself and its politics. They detest the limits the Smith government put on the grooming of children with trans propaganda in the classroom. They hate that they now have to inform parents if a child, at their insistence, begins "transitioning" to the opposite gender. They also completely hate that they were ordered to remove what amounted to child pornography from elementary school libraries. They fear alternative schooling for children such as occurs in private schools, home schooling, and Alberta charter schools and have argued for their abolition. These place children out of their power to indoctrinate in leftist ideology. This is what drives their rejection of any settlement as their ultimate goal is to damage the Smith government and, if possible, bring it down.
The notwithstanding clause is needed because the Supreme Court has recognized a charter right to collective bargaining and a right to strike. It’s interesting that the federal government is trying to change the constitution by judicial fiat to restrict use of the notwithstanding clause, yet over the past year or so, they have ordered several federal sector unions back to work with nothing more than a minister’s order, sweeping away the constitution like yesterday’s trash.