Edmonton labour union, climate group protest Bill C-39
Posted November 12, 2026 3:24 pm.
Critics of the Liberal government’s Bill C-39 gathered outside the Edmonton office of a federal cabinet minister on Thursday afternoon.
It was part of a countrywide movement in opposition to Mark Carney’s Building Canada Strong Act, which has the ability to fast-track major infrastructure projects deemed in Canada’s national interest — like pipelines, ports and nuclear facilities.
The legislation has faced widespread criticism from labour unions, environmental groups and Indigenous leaders. Opponents say the bill would restrict workers’ right to strike at federal facilities; loosen environmental rules; and impact Indigenous rights.
“Don’t bulldoze our planet” and “Community need before corporate greed” were just some of the signs on display at the protest in Alberta’s capital, outside the office of Minister Eleanor Olszewski.
“The priorities are shifting,” said Aisha Hoedle, a volunteer with Climate Justice Edmonton. “It’s moving from the protection angle for the species, the waterways, and instead prioritizing getting these corporate projects pushed through.”
The bill will also give Ottawa power to intervene and end legal strikes after back-to-work legislation was used several times over the last few years.
“It’s a recipe for driving down wages, driving down our living standards and it will ripple beyond unionized workplaces too,” said Gill McGowan, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour. “Because if unionized workplaces can’t hold up wages and standards, those wages and standards are going to go down for all Canadian working people.”
A similar protest was held by labour leaders outside Olszewski’s office last month.
An Alberta-based economics professor says it doesn’t remove the right to strike, but the legislation is ensuring strike action doesn’t go on longer than necessary.
“Labour disruptions are not one of those things that the government can spend their way out of the situation,” said Moshe Lander with Concordia University in Montreal. “So legislation to say we need to minimize the potential risk of these supply side shocks happening is part of the justification for the bill.”
Olszewski, the emergency management minister, defended the bill to CityNews, saying it would create jobs and focus on efficiency rather than bureaucracy. She says she’s willing to speak with concerned groups.
“That means doing things like avoiding duplication, avoiding steps that are unnecessary, having a proponent submit something to one jurisdiction, then to another, then to another, then to another,” the minister said. “And so it’s not an effort to reduce any steps that we want to take to protect the environment.”
Bill C-39 is currently before Parliament. It is expected to pass.
