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Alberta teachers reject contract offer, setting up provincewide strike

  • Jack Farrell

    Jack Farrell

  • Canadian Press

  • September 29, 2025

Charis Routley, 11, blows bubbles with friends as they join a student walk out and protest in support of pay for teachers and funding for schools at the Alberta legislature in Edmonton on Monday, Sept. 22, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Amber Bracken

EDMONTON -- Alberta teachers have rejected the province's latest contract offer, setting the stage for a potential provincewide strike next week.

Alberta Teachers' Association president Jason Schilling says close to 90 per cent of its members voted against the deal on the table.

The rejected offer included a 12-per-cent pay raise over four years and a government promise to hire 3,000 more teachers to address class sizes.

Teachers also would've had the cost of their COVID-19 vaccines covered by the government as part of the contract.

The government has said the contract would've been good for Alberta's education system, saying it was strong on classroom investment.

Schilling says the vote makes it clear that teachers found the offer unacceptable.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 29, 2025.