Federal union calls strike votes for 120,000 public servants

Across Canada

The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) holds strike votes from Nov 16 to Jan 22, 2027, after a year and a half of contract talks with the Treasury Board broke down.

Who votes

• Wildland firefighters
• Passport and benefit officers
• Fishery officers
• Federal teachers and librarians
• Administrative staff

The union says Ottawa refused to negotiate on wages, job security, remote work and protections against artificial intelligence; in May it called a wage offer of less than one per cent a year insulting.

"The government has left us no other choice," said PSAC national president Sharon DeSousa, who calls a strike a last resort. A yes vote gives the union a legal strike position for 60 days.

— Sharon DeSousa, PSAC national president

Background

In 2023, 155,000 federal public servants spent almost two weeks on picket lines before winning raises of 12.6 per cent over their contract.