Labour and education in the news

Below are recent news stories on labour and education related issues. Click the headline to be taken to the article. Some may require a subscription. Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for article text.

October 28, 2026

Winnipeg students rally for the right to vote in school trustee elections
CityNews
Dozens of Winnipeg students are preparing to rally on election day, calling for the right to vote for school trustees who make decisions that directly affect their education.

Trustee rivals join forces on campaign trail
Winnipeg Free Press
Trustee candidates have begun teaming up — in some cases, with rivals — to reduce the cost of canvassing, meet more voters and bolster their platforms to improve public education in Winnipeg.

Sask. teachers, gov’t in preliminary bargaining stages for new contract
CTV News
As educators gathered at the Queensbury Convention Centre for their annual convention Monday, it was done under the backdrop of yet another round of contract negotiations.

Indigenous scholars allege racism, poor treatment at University of Ottawa
CBC
Indigenous academics say a difficult work environment, poor treatment and racism at the University of Ottawa, and a lack of effort to address those problems, has led multiple promising Indigenous scholars to quit.

10 students suspended at Lévis, Que., high school for posting AI-altered images of staff
CBC
Ten students have been suspended at a high school in Lévis, Que., after images of teachers and school staff altered by artificial intelligence were published on social media.

CUPE says school support staff will issue strike notice Friday if wage demands not met
CBC
The union representing school support workers across Nova Scotia says it will issue a 48-hour strike notice on Friday if the employer does not offer a deal that would boost wages by at least $3.50 an hour over four years.

Alberta teachers mark one year since historic strike, say classroom pressures persist
CityNews
One year after the Alberta government ordered teachers back to work following a historic strike, the Alberta Teachers’ Association is giving the province a failing grade, saying overcrowded classrooms and growing workloads continue to put pressure on educators.

Memorial University cuts continue – without collegial governance, and without transparency
The Independent
Memorial University is being changed significantly by the current administration and board of regents. As someone who began studying at MUNL in 1989, and who teaches there now, I can confidently say the nature and character of our province’s university is being changed before our very eyes. The past year has without a doubt seen a drastic shift.

Budget pressures put satellite campuses under threat
University Affairs
About 300 kilometres northwest of its main campus in Kamloops, B.C., Thompson Rivers University (TRU) operates a satellite location in the small city of Williams Lake. The school’s president says the site loses $14,000 every single day.

At the root of anxiety over Ontario student aid
Globe and Mail
On a recent afternoon at the Southern Ontario Dental College, worries about paying the bills were as common as the mouth mirrors and polishing wands the future hygienists used to clean their clients’ teeth.

Cornell faculty to vote on no-confidence resolution over school’s handling of sexual-assault allegations
Globe and Mail
Cornell University faculty will meet Wednesday to conclude debate and begin voting on a proposed no-confidence resolution in the university’s administration following widespread frustration over its response to a woman who reported she was gang raped at a campus fraternity house in 2024.

France promises new university admissions system in response to students’ demands
Globe and Mail
France’s government pledged Monday to replace its national online university admissions platform, seeking to quell student anger after weeks of often violent mass protests over education and living costs.

Alberta tables bill to prevent DEI hiring in public sector
Globe and Mail
Alberta is looking to end public sector hiring practices aimed at diversity, equity and inclusion.

Ontario pauses some skills training funding for unemployed people
Globe and Mail
In addition to freezing Ontario Student Assistance Program payments to all private postsecondary institutions, the province has paused at least some funding through Better Jobs Ontario, which helps unemployed people get skills training.

46% of Canadian CEOs eyeing AI-driven growth with smaller staff, poll shows
CBC
Nearly half of Canadian CEOs who participated in a recent survey believe artificial intelligence will allow their companies to meet their growth goals with fewer workers on the payroll.

Yukon government, unionized employees reach tentative agreement
CBC
The government of Yukon and its unionized employees have reached a tentative agreement.

More than half of N.L.'s Parks Canada workers at risk of losing their jobs
CBC
More than half of Parks Canada employees in Newfoundland and Labrador are potentially at risk of losing their jobs as the federal government agency launches a workforce adjustment exercise due to budget cuts.

PSAC holds strike training for members across the country
PSAC
Strike training for 120,000 PSAC members in the PA, TC, and EB groups has kicked off.

Typical big bank CEO takes just 2 days to make what the average worker takes a year to make – TUC
TUC
The TUC has today (Tuesday) renewed its call to tax bank windfall profits to cut energy bills ahead of the Budget, as the union body publishes new analysis which reveals the scale of massive pay packets of top bosses at Britain's big four banks.

October 27, 2026

School division’s mental-health liaison helps students in crisis access help faster
Winnipeg Free Press
A youth experiencing a mental-health crisis at a River East Transcona school was connected with specialized care within hours this fall, offering an early example of how a new partnership is helping students in distress.

Delays, cancellations after 45 Winnipeg School Division buses vandalized
CBC
The Winnipeg School Division had a lot of cleaning up to do Monday, after vandals targeted a school and nearly four dozen school buses in two separate incidents Sunday night.

Pushed to pursue safe degrees, students are shunning the humanities. At what cost?
Globe and Mail
Recent university graduates are still struggling in Canada’s unforgiving job market, with post-pandemic unemployment rates among young bachelor’s degree holders sitting at levels not seen since the early 1990s.

How age-friendly universities are helping older adults pursue higher learning
Globe and Mail
Gerry Eggert is a student at the University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) in B.C., taking classes in philosophy, psychology, creative writing and more. He’s a typical student, except for one detail: Eggert is 84 years old.

A look at Ontario’s current negotiations with its education unions
Globe and Mail
The Ontario government is hoping to reach deals with five major education unions, all of which have been without a contract since the end of August.

Ontario’s delayed inspections of two career colleges was after funding approval, records show
Globe and Mail
Ontario delayed inspections of two career colleges that ultimately turned up serious concerns about student financial aid use, which meant the schools received a “fail” only after they had been approved for funding for another year, court records show.

Working‑class academics are still struggling to fit in at university
The Conversation
Higher education is not a neutral space. It is built on longstanding histories of classism, elitism and exclusion. Universities in the UK were not designed for the working class, just as they were not designed for many other under-represented and marginalised groups, such as women, people of the global ethnic majority and people with disabilities.

The reported sexual assault at University of Arizona is the latest instance of alleged misconduct at the university’s frats
CNN
The woman thought she had told the two men, “Please stop.” She thought she had shaken her head.

Harvard Graduate Student Union to Strike for Second Time This Year as Contract Talks Stall
The Harvard Crimson
Harvard’s graduate students will walk off the job Tuesday for the second time this year after the union and the University failed to reach a contract agreement before an 11:59 pm Monday deadline, a union spokesperson confirmed.

Silicon Valley parents want the tech they help build out of their children’s schools
The Guardian
German Gil spends most of his waking hours looking at screens. Since moving to the San Francisco Bay Area in 2015, the software engineer has bounced between start-ups and giants including Netflix, Facebook and GitHub.

Canadian Union pensions love privatization, just not at home
Winnipeg Sun
Canada’s public sector unions have a simple message about our airports: keep them public. Privatization, they warn, means higher fees, worse service and profits flowing to distant investors.

Can Unions Turn Worker Anger Into Real Power?
The Maple
After decades of declining union density, employer attacks and growing economic inequality, the labour movement faces both significant challenges and renewed opportunities. A new generation of workers is organizing in workplaces once considered difficult to unionize, while growing public support for unions suggests that working people increasingly recognize the need to confront corporate power collectively.

More than 1,200 workers walk off job at B.C. copper mine after contract talks fail
CBC
Operations at Canada's largest open-pit copper mine have been reduced after more than 1,200 unionized workers walked off the job Saturday following failed contract talks.

Microsoft gives voluntary buyout offer to about 60,000 employees
CBC
Microsoft said on Monday it is offering voluntary buyouts to many staff members as the technology giant looks to contain costs and help fund its ‌massive AI investments.

Red Lobster workers want $22.30 minimum wage
Alberta Worker
Earlier this month, Local 401 of the United Food and Commercial Workers published an update on their website regarding contract negotiations for workers Red Lobster workers in Edmonton.

Protest leaders urge French pupils to keep barricading their schools
The Guardian
French children should continue to barricade their schools and take part in street protests, a student union said on Monday after the government announced a package of education measures to try to stem the crisis.

Serbia’s Student List preparing for talks on forming government despite no clear leader
The Guardian
Serbia’s triumphant but untested Student List movement is preparing to start talks on forming a government capable of reversing 14 years of increasingly authoritarian nationalist rule, after a seismic weekend election win.

October 26, 2026

Manitoba Government Bans One-To-One Communication Between School Staff and Students on Unmonitored Platforms
Province of Manitoba
The Manitoba government is issuing a directive to all publicly funded schools and school divisions to revise policies and practices around digital communications, banning one-to-one online communications between school employees and students on unmonitored platforms to protect students, Education and Early Childhood Learning Minister Tracy Schmidt announced today.

Manitoba bans teachers from texting, messaging students over social media
CBC
The Manitoba government is banning teachers from sending social media messages or texting students privately, weeks after two educators were stripped of their licences for inappropriately communicating with students.

Apathy after the outrage
Winnipeg Free Press
Front lawns were littered with “Local Voices, Local Choices” signs five years ago, protesting the imminent extinction of elected school boards.

Is the student or the system falling short?
Winnipeg Free Press
One night at bedtime, a 10-year-old looked at her mother with tears in her eyes and said, “Mom, I think I’m stupid.”

Assiniboine to launch Bachelor of Nursing for LPNs in January
Assiniboine College
Assiniboine College is launching a Post-LPN Bachelor of Nursing program in January 2027, thanks to an investment from the Province of Manitoba, announced in the provincial budget this spring.

The PQ sees a dire threat: schoolchildren
Globe and Mail
The Parti Québécois believes it has found a new threat to the secular nature of Quebec’s institutions: schoolchildren.

Government of Canada announces major investment in Canadian researchers and research institutions
Government of Canada
Today, Karim Bardeesy, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Industry, announced on behalf of the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions, more than $813 million to support world-class research. Specifically, funding will support over 450 researchers across Canada, cutting edge research infrastructure and help Canadian institutions with the indirect costs of research.

Teachers, education workers rally in Toronto calling for more funding for education
CBC
Teachers, education workers, their supporters and students rallied in five cities across Ontario Saturday, calling for increased funding for public education in the province.

Former SFU manager given conditional sentence after stealing over $180K
CBC
A former manager at Simon Fraser University (SFU) has been given a conditional sentence of two years less a day, to be served in the community, after pleading guilty to theft.

Memorial negotiating new CBAs with campus unions
The Muse
Five unions on campus – MUNFA, TAUMUN, CUPE, NAPE, and LUMUN are currently in the process of negotiating new collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) with Memorial.

Threats to a strong Canada? Universities are also a national emergency
The Conversation
The federal government is set to deliver its fall budget with a promised focus on building a strong Canada while positioning the country for long-term prosperity.

SGEU, province reach tentative agreement for 2,040 Sask. health workers
PA Now
Health-care workers in Saskatchewan could soon have a new collective agreement.

Ottawa ‘disappointed’ after union announces strike votes for 120,000 workers
CityNews
The federal government says it’s “disappointed” after Canada’s largest federal public service union announced 120,000 workers will take part in nationwide strike votes starting next month.

Amazon used AI tool to track risk of unionization in Canadian warehouses, documents show
Globe and Mail
Amazon.com Inc. AMZN-Q used an artificial-intelligence tool in Canadian warehouses to assess the likelihood of workers unionizing, assigning a “labour risk” score to each of its facilities.

Bill C-39 won’t “modernize” labour relations in Canada
CCPA
The federal government’s modifications to the Canada Labour Code through Bill C-39 have been generating a lot of questions. Why, first of all, are federal policymakers claiming that this obvious attack on the right to strike is not what it looks like? In what way will these measures “modernize” labour relations in Canada?

Nurse Strikes Have Quadrupled Since 2017. Here's Why It Keeps Growing
Nurse.org
If it feels like nurses are walking out more often than they used to, you are not imagining it. The numbers prove it, and the pace is picking up.

Volkswagen Confirms 12,000 Additional Job Cuts as Union Sets January Strike Deadline
Ad Hoc News
Volkswagen faces a widening labor confrontation after confirming on Friday that it will shed an additional 12,000 positions at Volkswagen AG through 2030 — a figure the company says emerges from its corporate target framework. Talks with IG Metall are now scheduled, but the union has already attached a strike threat to the negotiations.