Calgary students engaged in a provincewide school walkout on Thursday in response to the resolution of the Alberta teachers’ strike. The group, Alberta Students for Teachers, orchestrated walkouts at various high schools in the city. Arya Mishra, an organizer and Grade 12 student at William Aberhart High School, emphasized the importance of student voices being heard during the protest.
Following the provincial government’s introduction of back-to-work legislation for striking teachers on Monday, students returned to school on Wednesday. This legislation, known as Bill 2 or the Back to School Act, effectively ended the job action that had seen over 50,000 members of the Alberta Teachers’ Association on strike for over three weeks.
Mishra and other protesters stood in solidarity with teachers, advocating for classroom caps and optional January diplomas. An online petition urging the optional status of Alberta’s January 2026 diploma exams in light of the strike has garnered over 27,000 signatures. Despite the return to school due to the back-to-work legislation, students expressed frustration over the lack of changes.
Vaishnavi Venkateshwaran, another Grade 12 student and organizer with Alberta Students for Teachers from Sir Winston Churchill High School, believed the legislation infringed on constitutional rights. She stressed the importance of standing up for these rights and the duty to fight for beliefs.
Students from across southern Alberta also participated in the provincewide walkout, with students from Canmore Collegiate High School and Lethbridge Collegiate Institute showing their support. Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides acknowledged the students’ right to peacefully assemble and protest but emphasized the importance of attending classes and not disrupting learning.
While the Calgary Board of Education and Calgary Catholic School District acknowledged the protests, they made it clear that the walkouts were not endorsed by the school boards and would result in unexcused absences. Both school boards emphasized the priority of student learning and the need for a smooth transition back to regular classroom activities.
