Alberta teachers head to court in Charter dispute with province
Posted March 3, 2026 3:20 pm.
Last Updated March 4, 2026 9:45 am.
Alberta’s teachers are expected back in court this week for their constitutional challenge of the provincial government’s back-to-work legislation.
The Alberta Teachers’ Association says it will appear in court Wednesday and Thursday morning.
The union is trying to get a judge to take immediate action on a provincial law ordering them back to work.
BACKGROUND: Alberta Teachers’ Association files injunction, asking court to pause back-to-work legislation
Legislation passed last October by Premier Danielle Smith’s government ended a provincewide strike by 51,000 teachers. The teachers are hoping a judge temporarily sets aside all or part of that bill.
The ATA wants Bill 2 put on hold pending a full airing in court of the issues involved.
The association says it does not expect to receive a decision on the injunction until mid-March.
“Regardless of the court’s ruling on the injunction, the full hearing on the merits of the case remains scheduled for the week of September 21, 2026,” the ATA said in a statement Tuesday afternoon.
“Either party has the right to appeal the outcome of the injunction hearing or of the hearing on merits. The Association, with the guidance of its legal counsel, will evaluate the outcome of these proceedings as it pursues its challenge to Bill 2 and its provisions that trample the fundamental freedoms of teachers.”
The ATA was initially scheduled to appear in court to set the wheels in motion on its legal challenge in November, but that court date was postponed to March.
Bill 2 also imposed on the teachers a collective bargaining agreement rank-and-file teachers had earlier rejected and invoked the Charter’s notwithstanding clause to shield it from legal challenge.
The teachers, however, argue the clause has not been properly used.
The clause overrides teachers’ Charter rights, but Smith has said the government had no choice but to end the strike given that it was affecting students’ social, educational and emotional well-being.
–With files from The Canadian Press
