Nova ScotiaStriking flight attendants with Air Canada remained on the picket line in Halifax on Monday. That’s despite the Canada Industrial Relations Board calling the countrywide strike illegal and ordering them back to work.At least a dozen Air Canada flights from Halifax Stanfield airport were cancelled on MondayAndrew Lam · CBC News · Posted: Aug 18, 2025 6:53 PM EDT | Last Updated: August 18Striking Air Canada flight attendants walk the picket line at Halifax Stanfield International Airport on Aug. 18, 2025. (Andrew Lam/CBC)Air Canada flight attendants remained defiant on the picket line Monday at Halifax Stanfield International Airport after the Canada Industrial Relations Board deemed the countrywide strike illegal.Dozens of striking workers, who are represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees, shouted chants outside the airport, including “poverty wages, un-Canadian” and “negotiate, don’t legislate.”They were referring to Ottawa’s swift intervention in the labour dispute on Saturday, after which the federal labour relations board ordered the airline and its flight attendants back to work. Flight attendants were shocked and disappointed by the move, said Lisa Vivian Macdonald, Halifax strike picket captain.”But I think we were also galvanized,” Macdonald said.One of the major issues for the striking workers is unpaid work for before- and after-flight duties. Macdonald, who has been an in-charge flight attendant with Air Canada for 28 years, said flight attendants are professionals, like paramedics or firefighters. “A firefighter doesn’t get paid just when they have their hands on a fire hose,” Macdonald said. “They get paid from the time they start their shift, and we want that too.”People stand in line at an Air Canada counter at Halifax Stanfield International Airport. (Andrew Lam/CBC)Air Canada has proposed paying 50 per cent of flight attendants’ wages for work done when planes aren’t in the air. The union is looking for full pay. At least a dozen Air Canada flights from Halifax Stanfield were cancelled Monday, according to the airport’s website. Freya Hoffmeister had been circumnavigating North America in a sea kayak and was set to begin the journey home to Germany. But her flight to London’s Heathrow Airport has so far been delayed until Thursday.”I would love to be home after being 3½ months on the water,” she said.Hoffmeister found out her flight was being cancelled on Sunday evening.Lisa Vivian Macdonald has been an in-charge flight attendant with Air Canada for 28 years. She’s strike picket captain in Halifax. (Andrew Lam/CBC)In a statement released Monday, Air Canada said the airline has been cancelling flights on a rolling basis and that “all flights by Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge are cancelled” until 5 p.m. AT on Aug. 19.Air Canada Express flights operated by Jazz or PAL are continuing as normal.In a separate statement, Air Canada said it’s committed to returning to service as soon as possible, and that it regrets the impact on customers. Macdonald said she and her colleagues have the appetite to keep the strike going.”We’ll only stand down when our union tells us to stand down,” she said. “We’re going to be here until the bitter end.”ABOUT THE AUTHORAndrew Lam (they/she) is a Chinese-Canadian and trans reporter for CBC Nova Scotia. They are interested in 2SLGBTQIA+, labour and data-driven stories. Andrew also has a professional background in data analytics and visualization.With files from The Canadian Press
‘Until the bitter end’: Striking Air Canada flight attendants defiant on Halifax picket line
