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.

September 2, 2026

Red River Polytechnic looks to expand after MITT takeover
Winnipeg Free Press
Red River College Polytechnic is celebrating an enrolment bump and eyeing new high school partnerships as part of its merger with a longtime competitor.

Students back at former MITT campus after rocky transition amid school closure
Global News
College students and staff are shifting back to school on Tuesday at the former Manitoba Institute of Trades and Technology campus after a challenging transition period with RRC Polytech.

RRC Polytech making sure programs 'remain relevant' amid growing demand for AI skills
CBC
Red River College Polytechnic has tripled the number of seats available for its cybersecurity diploma only one year after it was launched.

Teachers, students file new wave of lawsuits against OpenAI over Tumbler Ridge shooting
CBC
Lawyers representing victims and survivors of the Tumbler Ridge school shooting say they are filing 30 new legal complaints against OpenAI in U.S. federal court in California.

$10B in education funding 'simply isn't enough,' says NDP
Calgary Herald
As students return to school this week, Premier Danielle Smith and Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides say a record $10.8 billion is being spent on education for this school year, while NDP education critic Amanda Chapman said it’s not enough.

'Inclusive' hiring has damaged Canadian research output: report
National Post
Canadian mandates on race-based hiring quotas in academia have done measurable damage to the country's research productivity, according to a new report by the Macdonald-Laurier Institute.

Ontario teachers flag higher prices on Ford government's new Staples portal
The Trillium
Ontario teachers logging on to the Ford government’s new classroom supply portal are finding some products priced significantly higher than what their school boards previously paid for the same supplies — but the education minister says teachers are missing a key discounted part of the new system.

Calandra’s comments spark confusion over Ontario’s new high school attendance rules
Globe and Mail
As the school year begins in Ontario, a new policy linking high school students’ attendance to grades has been thrown into confusion for principals across the province following comments made by Education Minister Paul Calandra on Tuesday.

MUN Faculty Association speaks out against job cuts at university (video)
NTV
The MUN Faculty Association is speaking out against the latest round of cuts at Memorial University. That’s after last week’s announcement that more than 100 jobs will be cut. NTV’s Kyle Brookings reports.

This university built an AI curriculum before ChatGPT. Now it wants to help other schools do the same
CTV News
Ethan Pecora has a team of 15 specialized artificial intelligence agents assisting him with his work. That includes helping to manage his calendar and various tasks related to the mental wellness app he’s building.

Trump Attacks Academia—and Grad Students Ask if It’s Worth Saving
Inside Higher Ed
Earlier this year, atmospheric science Ph.D. student Lily Zhang published a letter explaining why she was leaving academia. She hadn’t failed. She hadn’t burned out. She had simply looked clearly at the system surrounding her work—the misogyny, the exploitation, the demand for total sacrifice with no guarantee of return—and decided it wasn’t worth it. As current and recent Ph.D. students ourselves, we recognize her story not as an exception but as emblematic of what it means to be a graduate student in 2026.

Union accuses Manitoba of interfering in negotiations ahead of looming strike by Dynacare lab workers
CBC
A labour union representing 350 laboratory professionals is accusing the provincial government of interfering in its ongoing negotiations with Dynacare, the province's provider of outpatient lab diagnostics.

Unifor and Stellantis begin contract negotiations under threat of auto tariffs
CBC
The union representing workers at Stellantis warned the U.S. automaker not to take Canadian employees for granted as Unifor and the company began contract talks Tuesday.

Major labour group challenges Quebec’s union governance and transparency law
CTV News
A major Quebec labour group has launched a legal challenge of a new provincial law that affects union governance and transparency.

New Brunswick, union sign ‘master agreement’ for more than 3,500 employees
CTV News
The New Brunswick Union and the provincial government have signed a “master agreement” that will cover more than 3,500 employees and combine 11 bargaining units into one.

‘We’re putting continuing care operators on notice’: Union warns of potential strikes
CTV News
The union representing more than 20,000 continuing care workers in Alberta said it’s putting continuing care operators “on notice” that strikes could be coming.

WestJet Pilot Union Signals Contract Negotiations Weeks After Flight Attendant Strike
OpenJaw
Just weeks after the industry suffered the ripple effects of a 28-hour WestJet strike by its flight attendants, the airline's pilot union is urging management to avoid its "bargaining failures" as contract negotiations begin.

Union of National Employees elects new leadership after almost a year in trusteeship
Ottawa Citizen
The Public Service Alliance of Canada, the largest federal public service union in Canada, is set to hand back control of one of its component unions to an elected executive after almost a year managing the union.

House Republicans ramp up labor union investigations before midterms
The Guardian
House Republicans are investigating several US labor unions based on claims from far-right non-profits alleging union dues are being used for illegal political funding.

September 1, 2026

Employees, union raise concerns about AI tools amid WSIB layoffs
CBC
Amid ongoing layoffs at Ontario's Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB), some employees who have received notice — and their union — are raising concerns about the agency’s implementation of artificial intelligence (AI).

Union leaders worry province rushing to open temporary Dauphin hospital
Winnipeg Free Press
The province says it is on track to reopen the flood-damaged Dauphin hospital emergency department on Labour Day, but some union leaders representing health-care workers worry the reopening is being rushed.

CSN challenging Quebec law on union governance
CTV News
The Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN) is appearing before the Quebec Superior Court to challenge the province’s new law on union governance and transparency.

B.C. unions coordinate to press province to make future ferries locally
Abbotsford News
Several trade unions want action taken to ensure the future health of B.C. shipbuilding — including a commitment from BC Ferries to build its next fleet locally.

The Remarkable Starbucks Uprising: Has the Labor Movement Learned Anything?
Payday Report
We are now well into the sixth year of the Starbucks Coffee organizing drive, certainly a remarkable movement by any measure. Many decades ago, a number of unions did maintain a solid presence in the coffee shop and retail restaurant industry – in a few big cities at least. But in the modern era, huge deep-pocketed chain companies like Starbucks seem impenetrable, designed to be anti-union and impossible to organize. In the early 2000’s the IWW managed to heroically dig in and organize several Starbucks stores across a few cities, but were ultimately incinerated by massive company union-busting and lawbreaking.

40 Days, No Food: The Amazon Worker Starving Himself to Protest the Company
Western Edge
Italo Medelius is someone who embraces losing.

Manitoba educators hoping for more support with new science curriculum
CBC
Manitoba educators say teachers will need more support to successfully implement the province's new science curriculum, as its open-ended language contains fewer specific outcomes.

Little info available about changes to Manitoba's sex-ed curriculum included in health and phys ed revamp
CBC
Manitoba's new health and physical education curriculum will also include changes to how sexual education is taught in the province.

Winnipeg students in Grades 11, 12 will be 1st to get free transit passes
CBC
Winnipeg Transit begins rolling out free bus passes for young people next week, starting with students in the highest grades.

Winnipeg teacher disciplined for ‘liking’ student’s post
Winnipeg Free Press
A Winnipeg teacher has been reprimanded for accidentally clicking ‘like’ on a student’s year-old social media post during a late-night scroll.

‘Evolving global context’: School boards across Canada cancel, tweak field trips
Winnipeg Free Press
Zoe Cogger says two trips to the United States were going to be the highlight of her senior year in high school.

Committee vote brings outdoor learning facility one step closer for Riel school division
Winnipeg Free Press
Plans for an outdoor education facility that would host Indigenous and land-based learning for the Louis Riel School Division are moving forward.

What stalled negotiations between Ontario and teachers' unions mean for back to school
CBC
Numerous teachers' unions are at an impasse with the Ontario government over contract talks, which could prolong negotiations and push potential strike action well into the school year.

Universities aren’t political parties
The Queen's Journal
A university that is politically unbalanced does not necessarily lack ideological diversity.

The private school market serving international secondary students in Ontario has grown
The Conversation
The private secondary education market for international students in Ontario is growing quickly, yet a lack of regulation raises concern about quality as well as children’s safety.

MUN President Accused of Trying to ‘Diminish’ University With Recent Job Cuts
VOCM
The President of Memorial University’s Faculty Association is accusing MUN President Janet Morrison of trying to “diminish” the university with recent job cuts.

Columbia postdocs authorize strike
The Chief
Postdoctoral researchers at Columbia University voted by over 90 percent margin to authorize a strike, the workers' union announced over the weekend after six months of negotiations at the bargaining table failed to result in a contract.

Used bookstores navigate 'suspicious' bulk orders amid AI book-shredding fears
CBC
Used booksellers in Canada are navigating how to handle mysterious bulk orders, as suspicions grow that companies are buying up their old books so they can be scanned for AI training — and then trashed.

August 31, 2026

U of M research role expands after $79-M federal injection
Winnipeg Free Press
The University of Manitoba is playing in a new league.

Changes to Manitoba's sex ed curriculum included in health and phys ed revamp
CBC
Manitoba's new health and physical education curriculum will also include changes to how sexual education is taught in the province.

MUN Eliminating Over 100 Positions As Part of New Budget
VOCM
Memorial University has eliminated more than 100 positions as part of cost-cutting measures outlined in its most recent budget.

Exploratory process formed for potential Northern Saskatchewan University
SaskToday.ca
Efforts are underway to potentially bring a new university to northern Saskatchewan.

Nova Scotia's program review of universities moves closer to possible cuts, leaving faculties 'anxious'
The Chronicle Herald
It’s been a year and a half since a bill passed to give the provincial government the power to make changes at Nova Scotia universities. Yet faculty members are still in the dark about what could come next.

Adam Zivo: Jason Arday affair exposed the moral rot of progressives
National Post
Former Cambridge Professor Jason Arday — who until recently was lauded as an anti-racist prodigy —  died by his own hand last week after being exposed as a plagiarist and pathological fraud. His story should be remembered as a cautionary tale of how radical diversity initiatives can corrupt academia, yet some progressives are spinning him as a martyr and prosecuting a witch hunt against anyone who helped expose his lies.

Jason Arday accuser given three-month teaching ban but can continue research
The Guardian
Prof Jason Arday’s accuser Nathan Cofnas has been barred from teaching on Ghent University campus for three months but has been allowed to continue his research position.

Trump administration seeks to restrict internships for international students
Reuters
President Donald Trump's administration has issued a memo for universities that seeks to restrict issuance of certain internship work authorizations for international students as the federal government ‌warned that colleges not complying with the regulations may lose certification to enroll foreign students.

The colleges facing DOJ accusations of racial discrimination in admissions
Higher Ed Dive
In May, the Trump administration opened a new front in its crackdown on the higher education sector.

‘Our children are less cognitively capable,’ says neuroscientist who wants to cut screen use in schools
The Guardian
Jared Cooney Horvath is on a mission. In the wake of global campaigns for smartphone bans in schools and social media restrictions for under-16s, the neuroscientist wants to raise the alarm about educational technology in classrooms.

University of Sydney staff to strike as union clash over AI and job security deepens
News.com.au
Hundreds of University of Sydney staff will walk off the job over stalled enterprise agreement talks covering job security and AI protections.

Stellantis and Unifor to kick off contract talks next week (video)
CBC
Stellantis and Unifor, which represents more than 6,000 workers at the global automaker's plant in Windsor, are set to launch collective bargaining next week. With a trade war and market uncertainty, the union says it could be the toughest contract negotiation ever. CBC Windsor's Emma Loop reports.

Sask. nurses could be sent anywhere in province under bargaining proposal
CTV News
The province is pitching a fundamental change to nursing practice across Saskatchewan as part of its negotiations with the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses (SUN) over a new collective bargaining agreement.

Union, GM ratify new three-year deal for auto workers in Ontario
InSauga
Unionized workers at General Motors plants across Ontario voted overwhelmingly Sunday to ratify a new three-year contract that secures new products and investment amid the fear of plant closures, while also delivering wage increases and benefit improvements to more than 4,600 employees, as well as pension improvements to retirees.

Lauren Frenkel: Canadian unions should know socialism never ends well
National Post
The resurgence of socialism in the United States, mainly through the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), should serve as a warning to Canadians. Ideas once associated with Soviet socialism and later cultivated in Western activist movements and university campuses, are increasingly finding their way into mainstream campaigns and electoral victories in the United States.

Hundreds of Romanian workers protest to end blockade of sectoral bargaining
UNI Global Union
Hundreds of workers organised by UNI-affiliated Romanian unions in the commerce, tech and finance sectors protested on 25 August 2026 in front of Bucharest’s Ministry of Labour.

August 28, 2026

Province Rolls Out New Health and Physical Education Curriculum to Make Manitoba Kids Healthier
Province of Manitoba
The Manitoba government is introducing a pilot program for a new health and physical education curriculum that includes an ‘Every Body, Every Day’ policy making in-person physical education mandatory for all students from kindergarten to Grade 12, ensuring no student is left on the sidelines, Premier Wab Kinew and Education and Early Childhood Learning Minister Tracy Schmidt announced today.

Physical activity ‘for every single child’
Winnipeg Free Press
Manitoba is overhauling phys-ed class and requiring all high school students to regularly work up a sweat on school grounds to graduate.

Workforce changes support Memorial’s long-term sustainability
Memorial University Gazette
This week, Memorial finalized workforce changes as part of cost reduction measures identified through the 2026–27 budget process and broader efforts to strengthen the university’s financial sustainability.

After autistic student denied, Quebec faces calls to reform French exemption process
CBC
Quebec is facing sharp criticism and calls to reform its French-language exemption process for students with disabilities following the removal of an autistic student from a local college.

Violence against education staff in N.W.T. on the rise, union says
CBC
The number of violent incidents against education staff in the Northwest Territories has steadily increased over the last 20 years, according to data from the Workers' Safety and Compensation Commission (WSCC).

Canadian Universities Poach 48 Researchers From American Campuses, Including Harvard and Yale
University Herald
Canadian universities have recruited 48 researchers from U.S. campuses, including Harvard University, Yale University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Michigan, as part of a federal initiative that has awarded more than $541 million to bring 64 research leaders to Canada.

Degrees of Difference: Comparing Bachelor’s Degree Outcomes Across Ontario Colleges and Universities
C.D. Howe Institute
Does it matter where you get your bachelor’s degree from? Is there a detectable advantage to graduating from one type of institution over another? This question has preoccupied researchers across several countries for decades.

Columbia University postdoctoral workers vote overwhelmingly to authorize strike
World Socialist Web Site
Some 1,000 postdoctoral researchers, associate research scientists and associate research scholars at Columbia University have voted by over 90 percent to authorize strike action, the Columbia Postdoctoral Workers-United Auto Workers (CPW-UAW) Local 4100 announced last weekend. Approximately 850 workers participated in the vote, a record turnout, which comes after six months of negotiations failed to produce a contract.

Labour board rejects appeal by chain that underpaid foreign workers at Manitoba hotel
CBC
A hotel chain must pay more than $100,000 to three foreign workers employed at one of its locations in Manitoba after the province's labour board denied the company's appeal.

Subway restaurant owner in Quesnel fined for trying to suppress worker injury claim: WorkSafeBC
CBC
WorkSafeBC says a worker burned on the job was reprimanded for reporting the incident, and says their employer tried to get them to retract the claim by saying they had actually been injured at home.

Air traffic controllers allegedly left work early before fatal Air Canada crash at LaGuardia
CBC
The union representing American air traffic controllers has acknowledged allegations that two members left work early shortly before an Air Canada regional jet crashed at LaGuardia Airport in March, killing two pilots.

A Union Just Delayed Alphabet (GOOGL) Google’s $10 Million Purchase of a Bankrupt Airline’s Data
Yahoo
A US bankruptcy court delayed to September 9, 2026, a hearing to approve Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)'s Google buying internal business data from bankrupt Spirit Airlines for $10 million, after the flight attendants' union representing Spirit's cabin crew formally objected to the sale.

Kia union approves wage deal, marking 6th straight year without strike
The Korea Times
Kia Corp. said Friday its labor union has approved this year's wage agreement, wrapping up annual negotiations without a strike for the sixth consecutive year.

Australian workers face deepening real wage cuts
World Socialist Web Site
Newly released Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data confirms that the working class confronts a deepening cost-of-living crisis, as inflation continues to outpace wages. At the same time, banks, mining giants, supermarket chains and other major corporations have racked up record profits.