Calgary students engaged in a provincewide school walkout on Thursday in response to the resolution of the Alberta teachers’ strike. Alberta Students for Teachers, a group that spearheaded the walkouts at various high schools in the city, emphasized the importance of students voicing their opinions. Organizer Arya Mishra, a Grade 12 student at William Aberhart High School, highlighted the disconnect between what politicians and others are purportedly saying on behalf of students and the actual sentiments of the students themselves.
Following the provincial government’s introduction of back-to-work legislation for striking teachers on Monday, which involved the use of the notwithstanding clause, students returned to school on Wednesday. The Back to School Act, also known as Bill 2, brought an end to the job actions that had led to over 50,000 members of the Alberta Teachers’ Association going on strike more than three weeks ago.
Mishra and other protesters expressed their solidarity with teachers, advocating for classroom caps and optional January diplomas. Their stance was reinforced by an online petition calling for the optional status of Alberta’s January 2026 diploma exams, which has garnered over 27,000 signatures. Despite the return to school due to the back-to-work legislation, students like Mishra find it disheartening that no substantive changes have been implemented.
Vaishnavi Venkateshwaran, another organizer with Alberta Students for Teachers and a Grade 12 student at Sir Winston Churchill High School, underscored the perceived infringement on constitutional rights stemming from the government’s back-to-work legislation. She emphasized the importance of standing up for these rights and being actively engaged in advocating for one’s beliefs.
Across southern Alberta, students in places like Canmore and Lethbridge also participated in the provincewide walkout, aiming to contribute to the ongoing discourse. While Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides acknowledged students’ rights to assemble and protest peacefully, he emphasized the importance of attending classes to avoid disrupting their own learning and that of others.
The Calgary Board of Education (CBE) and Calgary Catholic School District (CCSD) acknowledged the planned protests but made it clear that they did not endorse the walkouts. Both school boards stressed the necessity for students to be in class unless excused by a parent or guardian. The CBE and CCSD indicated that participating in the protest would not be considered an excused absence under the provincial Education Act, potentially resulting in unexcused absences and missed classes being marked as such.