Alberta offers parents money and DIY home-curriculum guide if teachers strike

EDMONTON – Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says if teachers follow through on a provincewide strike Monday, her government will provide families backstop money and a do-it-yourself curriculum guide so parents can teach their children at home.

Smith says she’s disappointed negotiations have hit a stalemate and believes her government’s offer of wage hikes and classroom supports is more than fair, noting it’s the second time teachers have given thumbs down to a proposed solution.

“To go on strike without offering meaningful and reasonable solutions is harmful to students and to parents,” Smith told a Calgary news conference Tuesday.

“Our government will not leave 700,000 Alberta students and their families without resources as the union advances towards a strike.”

Her comments came a day after teachers overwhelmingly voted down a contract offer put before them by the province and the Alberta Teachers’ Association.

If the strike goes ahead, the province said it will provide an online tool kit for parents who wish to teach their kids at home. It will also provide $30 a day for each student ages 12 and under, with payments starting Oct. 31.

Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides said the curriculum kit focuses on core subjects, such as English, math, sciences and social studies.

“It is not a mandatory requirement but is a tool I’m sure many parents will find useful,” Nicolaides said.

The teachers’ union, in a statement, criticized the $30 per day per student for parents as a cruel irony, calculating that an Alberta teacher making an average wage with a class of 30 students receives about half that at $16 per student.

Finance Minister Nate Horner said it’s no longer clear what teachers seek in bargaining and urged the union to figure that out.

“It’s now up to the union to determine next steps,” said Horner.

“I believe it is harmful for the union to strike without clearly understanding and presenting what their members are looking for.”

Union president Jason Schilling, in an interview Tuesday, challenged Horner and Smith.

Schilling said it’s clear from the vote that rank-and-file members want long-standing concerns addressed, such as overcrowded classrooms, complexities teachers face while teaching and wages.

“We put many solutions forward in our initial proposal, but government rejected all of them,” he said.

“That’s why we find ourselves in this spot today.”

He said the government’s promise to pay families amid a strike — and an ad campaign it has been running in recent weeks to defend its offer — shows it’s trying to “draw out a strike.”

“I see government doing a lot of things to deflect from what’s actually happening. I don’t see them actually taking this seriously, coming back to the table, sitting down and trying to address it meaningfully.”

Schilling said teachers rejected an insufficient offer of a 12 per cent pay raise over four years and a promise to hire 3,000 more teachers.

He said the union’s counter-offer has included, for example, a wage for teachers that keeps up with inflation and caps on classroom sizes.

He disagreed with Horner’s assertion that the union has to make the next move. “We both have our hands on the steering wheel when it comes to bargaining,” he said.

The teachers’ association has 51,000 members. Over the weekend, those who cast ballots voted nearly 90 per cent to reject the government’s offer.

The association previously set a strike deadline of Monday, and Schilling said it appears the strike will be a reality. He said teachers won’t walk picket lines but would instead hold rallies and demonstrations.

A walkout would affect more than 700,000 students in 2,500 public, separate and francophone schools.

Smith has said that with the government facing a multibillion-dollar budget deficit, there’s no more money to sweeten the deal with teachers, and if teachers want higher wages, that money has to come from classroom supports.

Alberta’s government also said Tuesday it would not reconvene the legislature early to pass back-to-work legislation.

“Back-to-work legislation is considered as a last resort, not the first option,” Horner’s office said in an email.

“We respect the bargaining process and would like to see it produce an effective solution.”

Schilling was asked whether teachers would defy the order if it were issued.

“All options would be on the table at that point,” he responded.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 30, 2025.