Danielle Smith address audience in Fort McMurray
Today marks key moment in Alberta’s teachers strike as government tables Bill 2
EDMONTON — Today is the day Albertans learn the government’s full plan for ending the provincewide teachers strike and forcing educators back into classrooms.
Premier Danielle Smith has said Bill 2, the Back to School Act, will be introduced Monday when the legislature resumes. An order paper released last week outlines measures allowing the bill to advance through two or more stages in a single day, with debate limited to one hour at each stage.
The strike began Oct. 6 and has kept roughly 750,000 students out of class for 21 days. The longest teachers strike in Canadian history lasted 52 days in Sudbury in 1980.
Smith has repeatedly argued the job action is harming students and families, and says the government will move quickly once the bill is tabled. She said the precondition must be getting kids back to school, adding there is still time for a deal if the Alberta Teachers Association negotiates over the weekend.
About 51,000 teachers walked off the job after bargaining broke down over salaries, class sizes and supports for student needs. The province has offered a 12 per cent wage increase over four years and to hire 3,000 more teachers. The union has rejected that offer.
Order paper motions signal a compressed timeline, evening sittings, and limited debate as the government seeks to pass Bill 2 as fast as possible. Finance Minister Nate Horner will sponsor the legislation. Government officials have said classrooms could reopen later this week, depending on the timing of Royal Assent and compliance with the law.
Opposition Leader Naheed Nenshi has condemned the plan, calling it an attack on teachers and public education. The union says it will review the legislation before deciding next steps, which could include legal action.
Thousands of teachers rallied at the legislature last week, warning that legislating them back to work without addressing core issues would send them back to the same crowded classrooms they have been fighting to improve.
Today’s session is expected to confirm how quickly the United Conservative government intends to force an end to Alberta’s first provincewide teachers strike.
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