Since the beginning of last year, the pace of strikes in Canada has continued. After federal employees, workers at the ports of British Columbia, and public sector employees in Quebec, social protests continue this year, especially in the railway and air transport sectors.

The year 2023 has seen the largest number of work stoppage days in this North American country due to labor strikes over the past decade. These social protest movements also raise concerns about their economic repercussions.

Opinions differ on whether this is a healthy union dynamism, expressing general social discontent, or a pressure tactic a year before the federal elections. However, experts agree that Canadians are increasingly feeling frustrated due to rising daily living costs.

Rail Transport

Recently, the two largest railway operating companies in the country, "Canadian Pacific Kansas City" and "Canadian National," closed their facilities due to a strike by their 9,300 workers following a strike notice filed by the railway transport union "Teamsters Canada."

This work stoppage came as a result of stalled negotiations between the railway union and the companies regarding safety, rest time, and staff redeployment.

The nationwide stoppage of rail shipping threatened not only to disrupt supply chains but also to impact the economy of the entire North American region, forcing Ottawa to intervene by imposing enforceable arbitration and ordering the continuation of rail transport operations.

Ottawa's decision received support from the Canadian Industrial Relations Board, which ordered thousands of railway sector employees back to work.

In response to this maneuver, the railway union officially filed appeals against this decision with the federal court of appeal.

This simultaneous work stoppage was a warning of a disruption in freight transport, which is valued at approximately CAD 1 billion per day, according to the Canadian Railway Association.

For his part, Alex Munro, representative of the Vancouver-Fraser Port Authority, pointed out that the strike or shutdown would affect more than 115,000 jobs in the supply chain.

Keith Currie, president of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, confirmed that losses associated with the agricultural sector could reach CAD 50 million per day.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business warned that disrupting railway operations in Canada could have a "devastating impact" on small and medium-sized businesses, their employees, and their communities.

Moreover, extending the halt on freight transport in the country threatened to deal a severe blow to trade with the southern neighbor and disrupt supply chains across North America.

Goods worth CAD 3.6 billion cross the US border daily, and nearly a third of the goods transported by "Canadian Pacific Kansas City" and "Canadian National" cross the Canada-US border. Rail closures could disrupt operations in several American industries, including agriculture, automotive, construction, and energy, depending on the length of the work stoppage.

Air Canada

The social unrest has also affected the pilots of the country's largest airline, "Air Canada." The company's pilots voted overwhelmingly in favor of a mandate to strike.

According to Marah Ebrahimi, director of the International Aviation Observatory, this strike could have catastrophic repercussions on the Canadian economy, emphasizing the need for intervention to prevent it.

Negotiations between the Airline Pilots Association and "Air Canada" are stalled over compensation, retirement benefits improvement, and quality of life enhancements.

At the provincial level, social movements are also multiplying. In Quebec, the health professional union announced that it would encourage its members to refuse overtime starting September 19. The union has been negotiating with the provincial government for two years over a new collective agreement regarding working conditions for about 80,000 employees in the public health network.

Similarly, the hotel sector is experiencing the same situation, with around 2,600 workers in Quebec going on a surprise strike on Friday, the second since the beginning of the month. Their union has promised, in particular, to escalate actions during the fall, amidst failed negotiations over salary demands.

Inflation and Living Costs

Some analysts believe that these social movements reflect a general anxiety in the face of rising inflation rates, living costs, and increasing interest rates.

Indeed, Canadian consumer debt rose by 4.2 percent, reaching CAD 2.5 trillion in the second quarter of 2024, according to the new "Market Pulse" report published by "Equifax Canada."

Analysis from the credit rating agency highlights that credit card balances alone have reached an all-time high of CAD 122 billion, the highest level since 2007.

On the other hand, the report shows a shift in the living patterns of Canadian households, as an increasing number of adults are choosing to live with their parents.

One in three households (29.2 percent) now includes adults living with parents, compared to 26.7 percent ten years ago.

Rebecca Oakes, vice president of analytics at "Equifax Canada," summarized by stating that "As job opportunities decline, rental and property prices soar, and living costs increase, Canadian youth are increasingly turning to parental support."