ATA refuses gov’t request to return to classrooms

By Lethbridge Herald on October 18, 2025.

Alejandra Pulido-Guzman
Lethbridge Herald

After two weeks of students being out of their classrooms, the Government of Alberta asked teachers go back to work next Monday. The Alberta Teachers’ Association response was a resounding no.

ATA president Jason Schilling said the request came in a letter Thursday and the proposal left him and the union feeling “insulted.”

He said he would expect the mediation process to be biased, since the province said it’s not willing to discuss caps on classroom sizes.

“This limitation undermines any attempt at resolution,” Schilling said Friday.

The letter said that the Teachers’ Employer Bargaining Association can’t provide a counterproposal when the parties are extremely far apart, and the Association has indicated that it is unlikely a counterproposal that’s significantly different from their offer would lead to a negotiated agreement.

The letter asks that both parties engage in enhanced mediation process led by mediator Deborah Howes. Both parties have acknowledged their shared interests in addressing the varying complexities in the classroom. 

The letter included a statement that student-teacher ratios could not be included as part of the mediation process and this limitation undermines any attempt at resolution,” said Schilling. 

He said the proposed process is biased and designed to return an outcome entirely favorable to the government and school boards, not students or teachers. 

“We expect government to acknowledge these realities that are driving this dispute and come to the table willing to consider meaningful and specific solutions to class size and complexity.”

He said Alberta students cannot thrive in overcrowded classrooms with insufficient supports, and teachers cannot continue to absorb the impact of years of chronic underfunding. 

“We can no longer afford to kick this issue down the road. The concerns teachers have expressed are driven by what their students and parents are facing every day in Alberta’s classrooms.”

Premier Danielle Smith said during a press conference Friday afternoon, that she doesn’t believe the ratios as presented by the AT are correct, based on “simple math.” 

Smith said she believes that by dividing the total amount of teachers in the province by the number of schools across Alberta, the ratios are no more than 21 students per teacher. 

Schilling countered that her math makes as much sense as dividing the total population of Alberta between the number of municipalities across the province to obtain the population of each municipality. 

Smith said the ATA and government need to go back to the negotiating table because the longer the strike lasts, the more students will suffer.

“TEBA is ready and willing to continue negotiating, but the ATA needs to come back to the table with a deal that is grounded in reality,” she said. “After about three weeks, a strike of this nature, would reach the threshold of causing irreparable harm to our students’ education.”

She said that includes the impact the strike will have on graduating students facing diploma exams. With that in mind, the government made the November exams optional. 

Students who choose not to write the November diploma exams can still complete their courses and graduate on time. Their final grade will be based entirely on the school-awarded mark provided by their teacher. Choosing not to write the November diploma exams will not affect a student’s ability to apply to, be accepted by, or attend post-secondary institutions after graduation.

Smith said Friday that if the strike is still ongoing when the Legislature resumes Oct. 27, teachers can expect back-to-work legislation. 

Schilling said he and the ATA members are fully aware of that. 

“Teachers are well aware the power and the potential for government to pass back to work legislation,” he said. “But as strong and free Albertans, we will not be intimidated and ruled by threats that attempts to force us back to work and away from our principles.”