Canadian Rail Strike Partially Resolved as Government Orders Workers Back to CN

Employees at Canadian National Railway (CN) will resume work on August 23, partially ending a historic work stoppage following federal government intervention. Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) is preparing to restart operations, with timing dependent on further developments.

On August 22, CN and CPKC locked out 9,300 workers after failing to reach an agreement with the Teamsters union. However, the Canadian labor minister has now requested the federal industrial relations board to enforce binding arbitration between the parties.

Alongside the back-to-work order, Labor Minister Seamus O'Regan directed the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) to initiate binding arbitration between the Teamsters and both rail companies.

In the early hours of August 23, the Teamsters union announced on X (formerly Twitter) that it had taken down picket lines at CN. However, the work stoppage at CPKC remains ongoing, pending an order from the CIRB. The union also stated it will contest the constitutionality of the government's decision through the CIRB.