The Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) has received an overwhelming strike mandate of 95 per cent from its membership, but it’s unclear if or when teachers will proceed with job action. 

ATA president Jason Schilling announced the results of the vote, which occurred from June 5 to 8 with a turnout of 76 per cent, in an online Tuesday afternoon news conference. 

Schilling said that teachers’ strong strike mandate sends “an unmistakable message.”

Alberta teachers' last large strike was over twenty years ago, when picket lines went up against the austerity program of the Klein government. Image from the Alberta Teachers' Association Twitter feed.

“We are united, we are determined, and we will no longer hold up a crumbling public education system that this government fails to fund properly,” he said. 

The vote’s result was about more than just teachers’ pay, Schilling emphasized. 

“It's about respect, resources and the future of public education in Alberta,” he explained. “It's about our students who are slipping through the cracks. It's about our colleagues who are burning out and leaving the profession. It's about our working conditions, which are our students’ learning conditions.”

In 2022, the most recent year for which data is available, Alberta spent a total of $11,180 per student—by far the least of any province.

Alberta ranked the lowest in the country for per-student funding in the last available data, from 2022. Sources: Statistics Canada, “Number of students in elementary and secondary schools, by school type and program type” and “School board expenditures”

The next steps are in the hands of the ATA’s provincial executive council, which has 120 days to initiate strike action with 72 hours advance notice. 

Meanwhile, the ATA and the Teachers’ Employer Bargaining Association have bargaining scheduled for June 19 and 20, which the ATA intends on proceeding with, in addition to continued negotiations in August if necessary. 

“We hope the government will come with real solutions to address teachers' concerns,” said Schilling. “Alberta's public education is in a crisis, and at a tipping point.” 

He added that a negotiated solution would be the preferred outcome. 

“Nobody necessarily wants to go on strike,” said Schilling, “but we will move forward with that if we find that we're unable to get to a negotiated settlement that meets our needs.”

The last time teachers in Alberta went on strike was 2002.