4 questions you might be considering as Alberta’s provincewide teacher lockout continues
Families wondering how students will make up lost time as classes remain cancelled.
Teachers strike CBC
Janet French, CBC News Edmonton Oct 10, 2025
The Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) and teachers’ employers have agreed to return to the bargaining table next week after informal conversations during the first week of the province’s largest teachers’ strike.
However, teachers remain locked out of their workplaces, and the parties have no answers about when this contract dispute may be resolved, which raises questions about contingency plans and how the school year will eventually get back on track.
Here are four questions you might be wondering about:
| 1. What is the latest information about bargaining? |
The ATA announced on Thursday it would meet with members of the Teachers’ Employer Bargaining Association (TEBA) and a mediator on Tuesday, Oct. 14. TEBA is a provincial corporation that bargains on behalf of the provincial government and Alberta’s public, Catholic and francophone school boards.
The parties last met formally two weeks ago, when they reached a tentative agreement that was then put to ATA members for a ratification vote at the end of September. Nearly 90 per cent of teachers voted to reject the offer, which would have given them a general wage increase of 12 per cent over four years, and would have moved most teachers to one salary grid in September 2026, giving some a wage boost of up to five per cent more.
The rejected offer also included a provincial government promise to pay for 3,000 more teacher salaries and 1,500 more educational assistants by 2028.
Although the parties had previously agreed at a Labour Relations Board hearing that class size and complexity was no longer a bargaining issue, many teachers say it is classroom conditions and lagging pay that prompted them to go on strike on Oct. 6. Some said the most recent offer would not do enough to address their concerns.
On Thursday, neither party would say which issues will be on the bargaining table when meetings resume. The ATA said, depending on how Tuesday’s meeting goes, the parties could schedule more bargaining dates as needed.
Earlier this week, Alberta’s education minister said the maximum amount available for a new deal with teachers is an additional $2.6 billion over four years, due to provincial revenue struggles.
In a Thursday statement, Finance Minister Nate Horner said the province is “focused on securing a deal that is fair to teachers, students and Alberta taxpayers.”
| 2. How are these students going to make up lost time? |
Alberta Education requires that Grade 1-9 students receive a minimum of 950 hours of instruction each school year, and high school students must have at least 1,000 hours. High school students also need to accrue 100 credits to receive a diploma.
Some of that time has been lost since Monday, when teachers first went on strike. An employer lockout took effect on Thursday afternoon.School boards establish the school year calendar, and individual schools set their bell and class times.
Some approaches schools could use to make up lost time might involve extending the school day, changing the dates of planned school breaks in November, at Christmas or during spring break, or potentially extending the school year.
However, three school boards on Thursday said that any decision about making up lost time lies with Alberta Education.
Garrett Koehler, the press secretary for Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides, said in an email that “due to the uncertainty of the strike and how long it would last, we cannot speculate at this time how it would affect the school year in regards to instructional hours, but we will make adjustments to ensure students graduate on time.”
| 3. Which government support programs could affect my child’s enrolment in school if I take the money? |
The provincial government is offering a few types of financial assistance to help offset some families’ costs during the strike.
Parents and guardians with children age 12 and younger can apply online for $30 a day to offset the cost of child-care arrangements.
Now that classes have been cancelled for a fifth consecutive day, the government will raise the monthly child care subsidy for the month of October to $644, as it is in the summer months when children attend child-care centres all day.
Families also have the choice to switch their children to home education by registering with an independent school. In a news release issued on Oct. 3, the province said families who take that step will be eligible for up to 50 per cent of the home education grant, or up to $450.50 per child for the school year.
Home education students do not qualify families for the $30 a day for child-care expenses.
However, the government cautioned that children who leave a public, Catholic or Francophone school to switch to home education are not guaranteed a space in the school they left when classes resume.
For parents whose children stay enrolled in their school, collecting the $30-a-day child-care assistance doesn’t have any bearing on their children’s ability to stay at their school.
| 4. My student wants to look at existing schoolwork their teacher has already assigned. Can they access it remotely? |
School divisions are the best source of this information. The divisions that CBC News contacted on Thursday said their Google classroom portals and similar online classwork services are still accessible.
Edmonton Catholic Schools spokesperson Christine Meadows said students can log on, but no new material will appear on Google classrooms, and teachers aren’t answering messages. The Calgary Board of Education said, similarly, students have access to D2L online learning platform and Google Classroom, but teachers won’t monitor work or respond to messages during the job action.
In Edmonton public Schools, existing schoolwork has been archived and students can find the material under that tab. However, they can’t add to, edit or submit assignments, according to Edmonton Public Schools spokesperson Carrie Rosa. She said teachers were not required to prepare work for students to complete during a strike or lockout.
In late August, Alberta Education began preparing a parent toolkit for Kindergarten to Grade 12 students with free online resources that families could use in the event of a strike or lockout.
Families can access the toolkit online.
| Janet French Provincial affairs reporter |
| Janet French covers the Alberta Legislature for CBC Edmonton. She previously spent 15 years working at newspapers, including the Edmonton Journal and Saskatoon StarPhoenix. You can reach her at janet.french@cbc.ca |
Source CBC News Edmonton
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While Alberta’s K-12 students are out of school, parents can access child-care payments, a free curriculum-based toolkit and home education programs. But families who opt for homeschooling could see their children placed at a different school when they return to the public system. 1:18 CBC Oct. 9, 2025
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Also see
Alberta teachers’ strike reveals need for education revolution National Post
Here’s how educational assistants and support staff might be impacted by the provincewide teachers’ strike Edmonton Joutnal
Alberta teachers say class sizes a key issue in strike — looking at the numbers Edmonton Journal
Alberta tool kit for students during strike causes confusion, says expert CBC
‘A big mess’: Expert, parents criticize Alberta tool kit for students during strike Global News
Day camps, athletic classes and ordinary Calgarians stepping up to help kids amid teachers’ strike Calgary Herald
More than 1,000 rally in Calgary to show support for teachers on Day 4 of provincewide strike CBC
Labour expert questions why Alberta government delayed lockout of teachers CBC
Alberta offers strike assistance of up to $300 per week for students with complex care needs CBC
Alberta tool kit for students during strike causes confusion, says expert CBC
Why some Alberta teachers will vote against the latest contract offer CBC
Alberta education minister says striking teachers will need to make ‘trade-offs’ CBC
Alberta education minister open to discussing hiring more teachers; hesitant to consider cap on classroom size CBC
Alberta teachers to vote on tentative contract agreement CBC
Alberta to pay families of younger children should teachers strike Oct. 6, government says CBC
