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.

June 12, 2026

Postsecondary students in Canada, by Indigenous identity and racialized group, 2014 to 2023
Statistics Canada
Statistics Canada is releasing data on students from Canadian colleges and universities (cohorts of 2014 to 2023) by Indigenous identity and racialized group. This release includes information on the number of Canadian new students, enrolled students and graduates by Indigenous identity and racialized group, educational qualification, field of study, age group and gender. Data are available at the national, provincial and territorial levels.

Canada’s AI strategy and universities: Beyond literacy, students need to be fluent with AI
The Conversation
The Canadian government’s new artificial intelligence strategy positions AI as a major driver of job creation, economic growth and national competitiveness. It has also drawn some criticism for not providing enough detail on safety and governance.

Launching the president’s task force: AI-enabled university
The Quad - University of Alberta
Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming how people learn, discover, create, and work across virtually every sector of society. For universities, AI presents an opportunity not only to enhance learning and accelerate discovery but also to redefine how knowledge is created, shared, and applied. At the University of Alberta—home to one of the world's leading AI research communities—we are helping shape the future of artificial intelligence while preparing our students, researchers, and staff to thrive in an AI-enabled world. We embrace this opportunity with both ambition and responsibility, recognizing that realizing AI's benefits requires thoughtful leadership, strong governance, and a clear commitment to ethical and human-centred innovation.

Opinion: Atlantic Canada’s universities can future-proof workforces
The Chronicle Herald
Earlier this spring, David Campbell wrote a compelling review of Atlantic Canada’s labour market outlook. Entitled Help Wanted, Campbell’s analysis points to a very challenging future for this region if there is no intervention.

AAUP Investigating Academic Freedom, Shared Governance Across Texas Colleges
Inside Higher Ed
An American Association of University Professors committee is investigating academic freedom and shared governance violations across Texas, where public university leaders have restricted what faculty can teach, and where Republican lawmakers have put faculty governing bodies under university presidents’ control.

Manitoba physicians raise retention questions after highly specialized HSC doctor resigns
CBC
Doctors are questioning Manitoba's ability to keep medical talent in the province after a highly specialized physician at Health Sciences Centre handed in her notice.

Unions need to let the sunshine in
Globe and Mail
One of Canada’s largest construction unions, the Carpenters’ Regional Council, secretly bought a $4-million house in Nobleton, Ont., using a numbered company in 2022. The union’s then-leader, Jason Rowe, and his wife, Stacey Rowe, who was also a senior official with the organization, lived at the property for two years.

Canada Post announces 485,000 more addresses to lose home delivery
CBC
Canada Post has announced nearly half a million addresses that will lose home delivery next year.

Summer work in short supply for students amid weakened job market
CBC
The Heaven Inn Devon Café in Fredericton is a bustling spot these days. The large, Victorian-era house brings in coffee lovers throughout the year, but on a sticky-hot summer evening, it’s the colourful patio and blush-pink ice cream truck that draws a crowd.

Province Appoints Committee for Five-Year Review of Workers’ Compensation
VOCM
The provincial government will conduct a statutory review of the workers’ compensation system in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Senators say changes to labour law could make Canada a more reliable trading partner
CTV News
A group of senators is arguing Canada needs to overhaul its labour laws to avoid work stoppages in critical sectors if it wants to be seen as a reliable trading partner on the global stage.

Metro Vancouver workers closer to ‘full-scale strike’ with no contract progress
CFJC Today
Metro Vancouver’s unionized outside workers are threatening a full-scale strike after no progress toward an agreement during weeks of rotating pickets.

Migrant farm workers will soon get less information about pesticides. Their union says Health Canada has failed them
Toronto Star
Health Canada has quietly approved changes making it optional for pesticide companies to provide safety data sheets to farm workers, a move the union representing agricultural workers says puts workers’ health — particularly that of migrant farmworkers — at unnecessary risk.

Statement From CLC President Bea Bruske On Senate Report: Keep Canada Moving
CLC
Workers are the backbone of Canada’s supply chains. They are the people who keep them moving every day. And we know that a strong economy depends on strong collective bargaining and strong workers’ rights.

American Axle Strikers Set to Win $30 by ’30
Labor Notes
For years their pay topped out at $22 an hour, max. Now $22 becomes a new hire’s starting pay, under the tentative agreement workers at American Axle reached on Wednesday, after 10 days on strike.

At Minnesota Capitol, pushback from unions, industry halted new regulations on massive data centers
MPR News
A crowd of people gathered in the Minnesota Capitol rotunda in February, calling on lawmakers to slow the state’s building boom of hyperscale data centers, which are huge warehouses filled with computer servers that power cloud computing and artificial intelligence.

Mamdani City Hall Sits On Pay Gap Secrets, Furious Union Says
Hoodline
City Hall is catching heat from one of its own unions, which on Wednesday demanded that Mayor Zohran Mamdani finally release an overdue pay-disparity report. Union leaders say the missing dataset leaves thousands of municipal workers, many of them women of color, in the dark about who earns what while rent, housing and grocery costs keep climbing. CWA Local 1180 argues the update would spotlight where pay lags across agencies and could reorder bargaining priorities ahead of contract talks, and they say the delay undercuts transparency and leaves members scrambling to make ends meet.

UN labour organisation sets first international employment standards for gig workers
Reuters
The International Labour Organization on Friday agreed to adopt the first binding employment standards for gig workers in ‌services such as ride-hailing, food delivery and e-commerce, potentially giving them rights on pay, safety and social benefits.

Iranian seasonal workers in Turkey allegedly beaten after demanding unpaid wages
Stockholm Center for Freedom
Thirty Iranian seasonal workers, including women, were allegedly beaten in Turkey’s northeastern Rize province after demanding unpaid wages, the Birgün daily reported, citing the ANKA news agency.

Stop union busting at TaiDoc, Taiwan R.O.C.
IndustriALL
After years of discriminatory treatment, including alleged restrictions on their freedom of movement and the dismissal of a pregnant worker, women workers at the medical electronics company formed the Taidoc Technology Labor Union (TTLU) in August 2025. They won reinstatement, they won four labour cases and the Taiwan Ministry of Labour fined TaiDoc NTD 200,000 (US$6,371) for violating gender equality and labour dispute laws.

BHP accused of ‘American-style’ strikebreaker tactics
Michael West Media
BHP has been accused of using strikebreaking tactics similar to US tech behemoth Amazon by hiring alternative workers to avoid a major planned strike.

June 11, 2026

School divisions cancel classes, field trips thanks to water damage, power outages
Winnipeg Free Press
Classes were cancelled for more than 2,500 students in Winnipeg on Wednesday while many of their peers attended schools that opened without power.

Educators strike in Australian capital as public education crisis deepens
World Socialist Web Site
Educators in Canberra, the Australian national capital, will take part in a 24-hour strike this Thursday over a real-wage slashing pay offer from the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Labor government and deteriorating conditions.

World-leading UK science facilities at risk amid £162m funding crisis
The Guardian
Britain’s scientific capabilities face “serious damage” with some national facilities at risk of closure under spending cuts that are being considered to meet spiralling costs at the government’s infrastructure funding agency.

Video game giant Ubisoft closes Winnipeg office
Winnpeg Free Press
Video game developer Ubisoft has closed its Winnipeg office, affecting about 65 employees.

Canada's unions take concerns over AI and labour rights to global stage
Globe and Mail
Speaking today at the International Labour Conference, Canadian Labour Congress Secretary-Treasurer Lily Chang called on governments around the globe to ensure workers have a meaningful role in shaping their economic future, including artificial intelligence, while warning against efforts to weaken collective bargaining and the right to strike.

KEEP CANADA’S AIRPORTS PUBLIC! NATIONAL PETITION LAUNCHED
IAM
A national petition has been launched by the IAM Union calling on the Government of Canada to reject any proposal to privatize, sell, or transfer ownership or control of Canadian airports.

Historic first Walmart union contract in North America ratified in Mississauga
Insauga
Warehouse workers at a major Walmart distribution centre in Mississauga have ratified what their union says is the first collective agreement ever reached with Walmart workers anywhere in North America, marking a historic milestone in the company’s labour relations.

Ottawa Is Plotting New Ways To Contain Worker Power
The Maple
The federal government says it wants to “modernize” Canada’s labour relations system. But for many unions, Ottawa’s latest consultation on changes to the Canada Labour Code looks less like a good-faith effort to strengthen workers’ rights and more like an attempt to contain worker power at the behest of employers.

Canada’s Gender Wage Gap Is Even Bigger for White-Collar Freelancers
The Tyee
Canada’s gender wage gap — the difference in average earnings between men and women — is well documented. But that gap is even bigger for white-collar freelancers, a new report suggests.

Help wanted: The oilpatch will need 72,000 workers over the next decade
CBC
Canada’s oil and gas sector is facing a major hiring challenge.

GFL Environmental Services fined $130,000 for 4 workers’ injuries
Canadian Occupational Safety
GFL Environmental Services Inc. has been fined $130,000 after four workers were injured in a flash fire at a Pickering, Ont., worksite.

Two Alberta construction firms fined $250,000 after worker injured by falling cage
Canadian Occupational Safety
Two Alberta residential construction companies have been fined a combined $250,000 after a worker was seriously injured on a Calgary site.

'Incredible incompetence:' Why Metro Vancouver workers are on strike and how it could get worse
Daily Hive
Over the past couple of weeks, Metro Vancouver Regional District’s unionized outside workers have been slowly escalating job action, pulling workers off various sites from wastewater treatment plants to regional parks.

Honda Mexico Worker Wins Reinstatement After 15-Year Fight
Labor Notes
The leader of Mexico's Honda workers’ union won reinstatement last week, in an important win for workers seeking to build real unions in the country's massive auto sector. But it took 15 years for José Luis Solorio Alcalá, of the Union of United Honda Workers of Mexico (Sindicato de Trabajadores Unidos de Honda de México, STUHM), to get one step closer to justice.

Congolese doctors to go on strike amid Ebola outbreak
Africa News
In the midst of the Ebola epidemic, doctors in the Democratic Republic of Congo said they will go on strike from 11 June.

Italy implements the Pay Transparency Directive
Squire Patton Boggs
Italy has become one of the first EU member states to implement the Pay Transparency Directive. Legislative Decree 96/2026 came into force on 7June 2026, in accordance with the EU’s timetable. The Decree applies to both public and private sector employers, with some obligations differing depending on the size of the business.

June 10, 2026

Manitoba Government Announces $4.3 Million for New Manitoba Youth Job Strategy
Province of Manitoba
The Manitoba government is rolling out the first two programs of its new youth employment strategy, NextMB Jobs for Youth and Dreambuilders, which will provide a combined total of $4.3 million in funding to support youth entering the job market and retaining employment, Premier Wab Kinew announced today.

Parks Canada begins ‘first period’ of job cuts
CTV News
Parks Canada is entering the “first period of workforce adjustments,” as part of the federal government’s plan to reduce the size of the public service over the next three years.

Families in Canada must work nearly half the year to pay taxes
Fraser Institute
While the cost of living is a huge concern in Canada, most Canadians likely don’t know that taxes remain the single largest expense for the average family.

138 million children in child labour: ILO calls for urgent action
International Labour Organization
Nearly 138 million children are still in child labour, including 54 million in hazardous work. In this message, Gilbert F. Houngbo, Director-General of the International Labour Organization (ILO), calls for urgent action to change this reality.

Manitoba Government Opens Applications for 2026-27 Student Advisory Council
Province of Manitoba
The Manitoba government is inviting grade 9 to 12 students to apply to join the Student Advisory Council to represent Manitoba students and advise on issues affecting the education system across the province, Education and Early Childhood Learning Minister Tracy Schmidt announced today.

Education a key to getting young people ‘on the right path,’ Gillingham says at inner-city scholarship fundraiser
Winnipeg Free Press
Mayor Scott Gillingham talked inner-city education funding and its role as a tool to combat poverty and homelessness in Winnipeg at a fundraising event Tuesday.

Post-Secondary Is in Crisis. A New Report Proposes a Fix
The Tyee
Four years after the province announced a review of the public post-secondary funding formula, the Vancouver Community College Faculty Association got tired of waiting.

TRU Board of Governors and TRU Faculty Association ratify new collective agreement
Castanet
The Thompson Rivers University (TRU) Board of Governors and the Thompson Rivers University Faculty Association (TRUFA) have ratified a new collective agreement that supports a strong and sustainable future for faculty, staff and students.

Five years after CCAA layoffs, terminated Laurentian employees finally receive payouts
Sudbury.com
More than five years after he was terminated by Laurentian University during its insolvency restructuring in April 2021, Eduardo Galiano-Riveros received a cheque for his severance pay last week.

Parents call for remedial literacy plan as more Nova Scotia students fall behind
Global News
Parents, advocates and the Opposition NDP are sounding the alarm over the province’s education system, saying too many students are falling behind in their literacy skills.

‘Unmitigated disaster for students’: Protesters slam education cuts outside TDSB headquarters
TorontoToday.com
Outcry over education cuts echoed outside Toronto District School Board headquarters Tuesday evening, where dozens gathered to protest a slew of cuts to staff, programs and services coming this fall.

Canadian Teachers’ Federation Calls for Stronger K-12 Protections in National AI Strategy
CTF
The Canadian Teachers’ Federation (CTF/FCE) – representing over 370,000 educators through 18 Member and Associate Organizations – welcomed several commitments in the federal government’s national AI strategy. Until now, policy has not kept up with the rapid pace of AI adoption in K-12 public schools. The strategy begins to address governance gaps that will help protect the rights and well-being of students and teachers.

Training graduate students in research means investing in the future
University Affairs
Our society is facing unprecedented challenges. Environmental crises, rapid digital transformations, and global economic and geopolitical uncertainty are forcing us to rethink how we live, produce and collaborate.

The race to reimagine higher education
University Affairs
Universities are among the most durable institutions human beings have ever created. While a scholar from the Middle Ages might have found parts of the modern campus bewildering, they would still recognize the basic form: experts at the front of rooms, students organized into courses, knowledge divided into disciplines, credentials awarded after examinations. For all the technological change around them, universities have remained remarkably stable because their core product has always depended on something difficult to capture and mechanise: expert tacit knowledge. For that same reason, they are now about to be transformed.

The NYU Strike Showed How to Reverse the Downward Spiral in Higher Ed
In These Times
While teaching and conducting research can be wonderful experiences, working conditions in higher education have become increasingly horrible. In the United States, massive state disinvestment coinciding with 50 years of neoliberalism has resulted in both soaring tuition costs for students and large-scale budget cuts to universities. As a result, faculty teaching loads have increased while wages have stagnated. Meanwhile, university administrators across the country have replaced full-time and permanent faculty with insecure, part-time positions, and rarely replaced faculty who retired or moved. Whereas in the 1970s, more than half of U.S. faculty were tenured or on the tenure-track, today that figure stands at just over one quarter.

June 9, 2026

Community safety hosts join Gordon Bell High School in bid to improve security
CBC
A Winnipeg school grappling with concerns around open drug use and homelessness near the site has brought two community safety hosts — a type of security guard — on board.

Manitoba plans to ban AI chatbots for those under 16. This school uses them as an educational tool
CBC
Whether scrolling, watching videos or connecting with friends, young people are online — and they have opinions about a ban on apps they already use.

Alberta students say changes to provincial loan program create 'financial barrier'
CBC
Recent changes to Alberta's student loan program could be problematic for many students in the province, advocates say.

Ontario's education unions have a united front. With tense talks ahead, will it hold?
CBC
When Paul Calandra stepped to the microphone last week ahead of contract talks with Ontario’s education unions he projected a tone of optimism.

Alberta students sound alarm over financial aid changes
CityNews
Alberta post-secondary student unions are sounding the alarm over recent changes to the student loan formula that would dampen enrollment.

Post-secondary funding crisis bad news for students and province
AUPE
Alberta students are finding it harder to train for careers thanks to cuts at post-secondary institutions across the province, says the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE).

Collective Bargaining Update – June 8
UPEI
This update provides a brief overview of current progress on collective bargaining and the work underway at each table.

Canada risks losing ground as rivals invest in higher education
The PIE
The Centre for World University Rankings (CWUR) released its 2026 edition last week, which saw 37 of Canada’s 38 ranked universities slip compared to 2025, while the University of Toronto maintained its position as Canada’s top institution at number 23.

Professor Put on Leave for Assigning Case Study That Mentions Palestinians
Inside Higher Ed
Officials at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago placed an art therapy professor on paid leave after a student complained that an assignment featuring a mock patient who “felt deeply affected by the violence against Palestinian civilians” violated the school’s discrimination policy.

Texas Universities’ Crackdown on LGBT Courses and DEI Is Getting Worse
Scheerpost
As pressure intensifies, universities have restructured, fired faculty, cancelled classes and limited discussion topics.

They Didn’t Wait: California Teachers Strike and Win
Labor Notes
Tens of thousands of California educators joined forces statewide, wagering that they could win more by working together. The result was a wave of strikes this school year that defied narratives of austerity and won better funding.

Federal-Manitoba program commits $18.2 million for tariff-hit workers
HRD
Employers in Manitoba will have more money on hand to retain top talent thanks to a new agreement between the provincial and federal governments.

Steelworkers welcome bill to close anti-scab loophole, strengthen workers’ right to strike
Globe and Mail
The United Steelworkers union (USW) is welcoming legislation introduced today by NDP Parliamentary Leader Don Davies to close a loophole in federal anti-scab legislation that allows employers to use outside managers as replacement workers during labour disputes.

Yukon Employees' Union rejects contract offer from territorial government
CBC
Talks between the Yukon Employees' Union (YEU) and the Yukon government over a new contract for its workers have broken down, according to the union.

Public service unions slam government plan to reduce pension contributions
Yahoo
Federal public service unions are calling out the government's plans to reduce pension contributions, arguing it is "unacceptable" for the government to strip public servants of enhanced pensions.

LMIA wait times improve for select Temporary Foreign Worker Program streams
CIC News
Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) has released its latest processing time update for Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIAs).

U.S. judge blocks Trump’s $100,000 H-1B visa fee for highly skilled foreign workers, calling it unlawful
Globe and Mail
A federal judge on Monday struck down a US$100,000 fee U.S. President Donald Trump imposed on new H-1B visas for highly skilled foreign workers, concluding that it constituted an unlawful tax Congress never authorized.

US stadium and hotel workers threaten strikes ‘to make things fair’ during World Cup
The Guardian
Hospitality and food service workers in several US cities hosting World Cup games are warning of looming labor disputes and possible strikes as the largest single sport tournament in the world gets ready to kick off on 11 June.

A four-day working week would be a major step forward for disabled people’s inclusion in the workplace, according to a report
MorningStar
A FOUR-DAY working week would make a “transformative difference” to the lives of disabled people and result in productivity and performance gains.

Amazon TB outbreak needs full investigation
GMB Union
A tuberculosis outbreak at Amazon's Coventry fulfilment needs a full and through investigation, GMB Congress heard.

Fishing boss fined for breaching human trafficking court order
BBC
A fishing trawler boss linked to a series of modern slavery allegations has been fined £2,700 after breaching a human trafficking court order.

June 8, 2026

University of Manitoba Security Services Monthly Report: May 2026
University of Manitoba

Learning software hack bolsters the case for digital sovereignty
University Affairs
Just when you thought the end of term could not get more stressful, you log into your familiar course management software, only to encounter a ransomware notice.

New federal AI strategy emphasizes university research, training and commercialization
University Affairs
The federal government will increase the number of Canada CIFAR AI Chairs from 143 to nearly 200 researchers as part of the new national artificial intelligence strategy entitled AI for All, which was unveiled by Prime Minister Mark Carney in Toronto on Thursday.

BUFA labour relations update (June 5)
Brock University
The University bargaining committee continues to meet with the Brock University Faculty Association (BUFA), the union representing faculty members and professional librarians.

Calgary university seeks appeal as Frances Widdowson eyes reinstatement
CBC
Calgary’s Mount Royal University is seeking to appeal a recent decision from the Alberta Labour Relations Board tied to the termination and potential reinstatement of a former tenured professor.

Ontario spent $465M more on OSAP last year. 95% of that went to private career college students, docs show
CBC
When Ontario Premier Doug Ford's government drastically cut student assistance grants earlier this year, it cited "unsustainable" costs, but new figures show nearly all of the recent growth was among private career college students.

Female professors at post-secondary schools in Toronto earn significantly less than their male counterparts. Here’s why
CTV News
Female professors in Toronto are earning as much as $23,000 less than their male counterparts, according to Statistics Canada.

Just four of 130 anglophone N.B. schools passed their grade four reading assessment. Why has the province fallen so far behind?
CTV News
A child’s ability to read and write is something Ainsley Congdon thinks about a lot.

Universities in crisis: why we need a national fightback
Counterfire
Universities are in crisis. According to the Office for Students, the sector’s regulator, 119 institutions (around 43% of the sector) are forecasting deficits for this academic year. The OfS predicts that this figure could rise to 163 providers (representing nearly 60% of the sector) within three years. Some 24 institutions are now reckoned to be in danger of bankruptcy and what the regulator nauseatingly calls “market exit” in the next 12 months.

Manitoba’s nurse-to-patient ratios must be set soon, union urges
Global News
The Manitoba Nurses Union is urging the provincial government to immediately form the committee that will roll out nurse-to-patient ratios.

Province has to hire, implement nurse-to-patient ratios, union leader says
Winnipeg Free Press
The legislation is in place and the recommendations are in, but Manitoba needs to hire more people if nurse-to-patient ratios are to become a reality, the union representing public-system nurses in the province said Friday.

Tentative agreement reached in 8-week Nova Scotia long-term care strike, says union
CBC
The union representing roughly 3,600 striking long-term care workers in Nova Scotia says a tentative agreement has been reached, meaning staff could return to work as early as Monday morning.

Curb that Yellow Dog! Private Members Bill targets employer-collusive unions
Rabble
Heather McPherson wants to outlaw the targets of her private member’s bill. She refers to them politely as “employer influenced unions.” Many workers know these repellent bodies as “yellow dog unions,” ugly creatures that pretend to be unions but put most of their energy into helping employers, often against the interests of the actual workers they purportedly represent. Think Colonel Sanders claiming he can negotiate on behalf of the chickens or Dracula acting as a blood donor broker.

‘Historic’: Canadian warehouse workers sign first-ever union deal with Walmart
The Guardian
Canadian warehouse workers have signed the first-ever collective agreement with Walmart, a breakthrough labour organizers are calling a “historic and powerful step”.

Health workers at the epicenter of Congo's Ebola outbreak labor with little pay or rest
The Canadian Press
Dr. Richard Lokudu, the medical director of Mongbwalu General Referral Hospital, has received barely any compensation for his work on the front line of one of Congo's deadliest Ebola virus outbreaks.

UPS driver goes viral after sharing his weekly paycheck
Yahoo
People are seriously considering switching careers after finding out how much can be made as a UPS delivery driver.

Republicans floating appalling farm worker legislation. Sign our petition!
United Farm Workers
Republican Representative and House Ag Chair G.T. Thompson's (R-PA) has just released a draft of horrendous H2A legislation. Let's nip it in the bud before it gets any further.

Even Trump says he doesn’t know ‘where the hell’ his own false claim about Black unemployment came from
CTV News
U.S. President Donald Trump uses a lot of fictional statistics. He usually deploys them with a breezy confidence.

A Japanese mayor is making history — by taking maternity leave
CTV News
Japan’s youngest elected female mayor is making history again – by taking time off to become a first-time mom.

June 5, 2026

Manitoba Government Passes Nurse-to-Patient Ratios Legislation, Releases Recommendations
Province of Manitoba
The Manitoba government has passed Canada’s first nurse-to-patient ratio legislation and is releasing recommendations, marking the next step in improving patient safety, supporting nurses and strengthening health-care staffing across the province, Health, Seniors and Long-Term Care Minister Uzoma Asagwara announced today.

WCB Local 1063 Workers Sound Alarm on Workload Issues
CUPE MB
Late last month, CUPE Local 1063 – representing workers at the Workers’ Compensation Board of Manitoba (WCB), participated in the Canadian Compensation Employees’ Union Conference.

Economy adds 88,000 jobs as unemployment rate falls to 6.6%: StatCan
Winnipeg Free Press
The labour market rebounded with a surprise gain of 88,000 jobs in May, partially offsetting a bigger drop in employment since the start of the year, Statistics Canada said Friday.

Carney's AI strategy promises over $2B in funding, aims to create 250,000 jobs by 2031
CBC
Prime Minister Mark Carney officially unveiled Canada's long-awaited AI strategy on Thursday, a document that encourages adoption across the country but has left some concerned that push could result in Canadians losing their jobs.

Federal AI strategy fails to sufficiently address job-loss risk, unions contend
Globe and Mail
Labour leaders are voicing concern over Ottawa’s new national artificial-intelligence strategy, saying that it fails to address the risks posed by AI and contains little detail on how the government would protect workers who lose their jobs because of the technology.

Canadian employers are paying the price after AI proves unable to replace laid off staff
Globe and Mail
Many employers seeking to save money by cutting staff and using artificial intelligence to do parts of their jobs are now going through the costly process of rehiring to fill voids left behind, a new survey shows.

Concerns mount among labour groups about Ottawa's review of Canada Labour Code
Castanet
Labour unions have seized on a federal review of Canada's labour laws to make the case for the right to strike and reaffirm their opposition to government intervention in labour relations.

Federal scientists prepare to fight for public science as bargaining begins
PIPSC
Federal scientists are entering a new round of bargaining, warning that continued cuts to public science are weakening Canada’s scientific capacity and increasing risks for Canadians.

What’s at Stake in Metro Vancouver Workers’ Escalating Strike?
The Tyee
After reaching an impasse following almost a year of failed negotiations, Metro Vancouver’s outdoor workers are continuing to escalate job action.

Actors’ union approves 4-year contract with studios and streamers
AP
Television and movie actors on Thursday voted overwhelmingly to ratify a four-year contract with studios and streaming services, a month after their union leaders negotiated a deal they say provides protections against synthetic actors created by artificial intelligence.

Louis Riel School Division embraces AI agents of change
Winnipeg Free Press
End-of-year report cards will be drafted using a new digital assistant made by and for teachers working in St. Vital and surrounding communities in southeast Winnipeg.

Early childhood educators discuss First Nations students’ needs
Winnipeg Free Press
Early childhood educators traded tips to improve attendance and well-being among First Nations students and their families at a first-of-its-kind event in Winnipeg.

New York City’s rules for AI in schools spark fury
CTV News
New York City’s first set of rules for the use of artificial intelligence in public schools is being called weak by many parents who favour a stricter approach.

St. John’s University raises the stakes in fight against faculty union with federal lawsuit
AMNY
St. John’s University (SJU) escalated an ongoing fight against its faculty union into federal court Monday, suing the state labor board to evade the basic tenets of state labor law on religious grounds.

June 4, 2026

Canadian teachers’ groups condemn use of notwithstanding clause
Global News
Groups representing more than 420,000 teachers across Canada have come together to denounce the recent use of the notwithstanding clause to force teachers back to work and terminate legal labour disputes.

U of T researchers discover method of using AI to create more dangerous computer worms
Globe and Mail
Researchers at the University of Toronto say they have discovered a new cyberthreat – a method of using artificial intelligence to create a dangerous computer worm that can modify its tactics as it spreads from one device to another.

University of Victoria names digital tech expert Rhonda McEwen as new president
Globe and Mail
Rhonda McEwen, a pioneering researcher and academic leader who was the first Black woman to lead a Canadian university, has been chosen as the next president of the University of Victoria in British Columbia.

MUNFA Members Resign from Board of Regents
VOCM
Relations between those at Memorial University who prepare young adults for the work world, and the employer have gone even frostier.

Yukon University discriminated against staffer who took domestic violence leave, tribunal finds
CBC
A Yukon human rights tribunal has awarded a Dawson City woman $55,000 after she was fired and denied a new contract with Yukon University immediately after returning from domestic violence leave.

Quebec prepares to table expansion of Bill 101 to English adult education
CBC
The Quebec government is expected to table a bill Thursday to expand the province's language regulations to adult and vocational education centres.

Who will defend the public university?
Canadian Dimension
The contributors to Knowledge Under Siege: Charting a Future for Universities, edited by Marc Spooner and James McNinch, identify many contemporary pressures on institutions of higher learning in capitalist countries, drawing mostly on the experiences of universities in the Anglo-American sphere. Among the issues discussed in this book are the neoliberal and managerial restructuring of universities; the conservative backlash against demands for social justice; the colonial and imperialist foundations of Western universities and the dominance of English-language publications in global science, and; the argument that universities should maintain “institutional neutrality” with regard to social and political phenomena like the genocide being committed in Palestine by Israel. Given the breadth of the book’s 19 chapters, this review cannot do justice to every contribution. Instead, I focus on several themes that emerge across the collection.

UK university’s axing of black studies MA has ‘dangerous parallel’ with US, says academic
The Guardian
A leading US civil rights scholar has urged Birmingham City University (BCU) to reverse its decision to close its black studies course, comparing it to the attack on diversity, equity and inclusion in the US.

Protesters clash with police in Chile’s capital over President Kast’s education cuts
CityNews
Thousands of students, teachers and social activists clashed with police in the Chilean capital Wednesday during a massive march against President José Antonio Kast’s education cuts and austerity measures.

Owners ordered to pay $100K in wages say they didn't know foreign workers were employed at their hotel
CBC
The owners of a hotel chain who are appealing orders to pay more than $100,000 in owed wages to three foreign workers say they weren't even aware two of the workers were employed at one of the company's Manitoba hotels.

Casino workers ratify first collective agreement
UFCW
UFCW 832 members at Sand Hills Casino ratified their first collective agreement on May 21.

U.S. weekly jobless claims rise more than expected; labour market remains stable
Globe and Mail
The number of Americans filing claims for unemployment benefits increased more than expected last week, but the underlying trend remained consistent with a stable labour market.

Joly meets with Algoma Steel, unions, to explore new job-creation opportunities
The Sault Star
The federal government is continuing to engage with Algoma Steel and its unions to get a better understanding of what new opportunities and partnerships can be forged to create more jobs.

Possibility of Marine Atlantic strike sends ‘shockwaves’ throughout N.L.’s industry associations
CBC
The possibility that Marine Atlantic could offer reduced crossings due to a potential strike has sent “shockwaves” throughout Newfoundland and Labrador’s industry associations, says one business leader.

Trump makes it easier to fire 8,000 federal workers
CNN
President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order that wipes away civil service protections from roughly 8,000 high-level federal workers by making them at-will employees.

Young and unemployed? Remote work, not AI, may be the problem, study finds
ABC News
The rise of remote work since the pandemic has made businesses more reluctant to hire young, inexperienced workers and is the key driver of higher unemployment rates for recent college graduates, a study released Monday has found.

Three-quarters of workers not on track for 'moderate' pension income, report suggests
BBC
Too many people face a "cliff-edge drop in income" when they retire, with more than three-quarters not on course to save enough for a "moderate" lifestyle, a pensions trade body has warned.

June 3, 2026

Manitoba Government Starts Construction on New Kindergarten to Grade 8 School and Child-Care Facility in Devonshire Park
Province of Manitoba
Construction has begun on a new kindergarten to Grade 8 school in east Winnipeg that will welcome up to 800 students in the growing Devonshire Park community, Education and Early Childhood Learning Minister Tracy Schmidt announced today.

Heat wave leaves schools sweltering
Winnipeg Free Press
Classes are being cancelled as thermostats spike — up to 42 C, in one case reported to the teachers union — in schools without building-wide air conditioning.

Alberta government announces investment of more than $1 billion in student aid
Global News
More than $1 billion has been invested by the Alberta government for post-secondary education student aid.

Most of Ontario's 2024 high school grads didn't complete e-learning requirement, data shows
CBC
The vast majority of Ontario’s 2024 graduating class did not complete the Ford government’s mandatory e-learning requirements, data from the province's Ministry of Education reveals.

Ontario education unions serve notice to bargain ahead of expiration of collective agreement later this summer
CTV News
Ontario’s major education unions have officially served the Ford government with a notice to meet at the bargaining table, potentially setting the stage for labour action that could begin as soon as this fall.

Harvard's 40-day graduate student strike — the longest in union history — is over. Here's what changed and what didn't
Yahoo
The Harvard Graduate Students Union ended its 40-day strike on Monday following movement by the university at the bargaining table at the close of the academic year, according to a Monday announcement.

New Federal Guidelines Threaten Almost Half of Graduate Arts Programs
New York Times
The Education Department is finalizing guidelines for an earnings test that would punish nearly half of all graduate programs in visual arts, music and performance based on the low income of recent alumni, according to the government’s calculations.

Sectoral bargaining could be key to fixing Manitoba’s—and Canada’s—labour market
CCPA
The Canadian labour market is plagued by two interrelated and longstanding crises: declining union density and the growth of precarious, low-wage work. Fixing these problems is essential to improving the status of Canadian workers—and while both of these issues are wide-reaching, finding a solution requires a hard look at the Canadian industrial relations model.

AI agents lag far behind human workers. Why are tech companies laying off the humans?
CBC
AI-related layoffs are in full swing as tech companies invest in artificial intelligence agents they say will take over tasks traditionally done by humans.

B.C. union ordered to pay $400,000 for defaming Kitimat employer with Indigenous workers claim
Vancouver Sun
A B.C. labour union is on the hook for at least $400,000 in damages for defaming a company that provides housing for the oilpatch, after the union claimed the company hadn’t hired enough Indigenous workers at a Kitimat facility.

N.S. CUPE strike enters its eight week (video)
CTV News
Long-term care residents and their families are calling on the Nova Scotia government to raise its wage offer as a strike enters its eight week.

Amazon refused to provide wage proposals to B.C. union, resulting in bargaining impasse, mediator says
Globe and Mail
Amazon.com Inc. withheld its wage proposal while negotiating a new collective agreement for hundreds of warehouse workers in Greater Vancouver, causing a breakdown in bargaining between the company and the union representing those workers, an independent mediator has found.

U.S. plans 10% additional tariffs on Canadian imports after forced-labour probe into 60 countries
Globe and Mail
The Trump administration has proposed new tariffs of 10 per cent and 12.5 per cent on imports from 60 economies after determining that they failed to curb trade in goods made with forced labour, a finding described by a senior EU lawmaker as “utterly absurd.”

Meta is scaling back its employee keystroke-tracking program after worker backlash
Quartz
Meta $META +1.80% is pulling back on its program to log employee mouse movements and keystrokes for AI training, after weeks of internal opposition from staff, according to Reuters.

A 60-Year Study of 800,000 Workers Just Found the Number 1 Cause of Burnout—Here’s What to Do About It
Inc.
Think about the last time your team seemed burned out without an obvious reason. No impossible deadlines, no organizational crisis, just a persistent low-grade friction that nobody could name.

Britain to suffer biggest rise in unemployment in G7, OECD warns
MSN
Britain will suffer the biggest rise in unemployment of any major advanced economy as higher minimum wages put employers off hiring, the OECD has warned.

Landscaping company forced migrant worker to pay $45,000 for job
RNZ
An Auckland landscaping company has been ordered to pay back the almost $45,000 it forced a migrant worker to pay for a job in New Zealand.

Portugal general strike: What you need to know
EuroNews
Portugal faces a nationwide strike on Wednesday, with disruption already starting on Tuesday. These are the key sectors that will be hit.