Preparing interactive tool
Ontario education bargaining 2026
Get your school to put your child’s supports during job action in writing, before it starts.
What you will need: The supports your child receives, their grade, and your school board
Ontario's Education Unions Serve Notice to Bargain
Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario · 2026-06-03 · Research source · Tier 2 · Advocacy Organization
Joint release of the five central unions. Source for the June 3 notice date, the 255,000+ combined figure, the joint list of bargaining priorities, and the five presidents’ names.
Ontario's Education Unions Serve Notice to Bargain
Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation · 2026-06-03 · Research source · Tier 2 · Advocacy Organization
OSSTF mirror of the joint June 3 release.
Ontario School Board Council of Unions · 2026-03-02 · Research source · Tier 2 · Advocacy Organization
The March 2 joint call for early bargaining, which the unions say the government did not take up.
OSBCU 2026 Central Bargaining Update #5
Ontario School Board Council of Unions · 2026-07-22 · Research source · Tier 2 · Advocacy Organization
Source for days at the central table, the Ontario Labour Relations Board scope dispute over centralizing historically local items, and OSBCU’s own statement that the dispute could delay bargaining by several months.
Ontario education unions serve notice to bargain as possible September strike looms
The Globe and Mail · 2026-06-03 · Research source · Tier 2 · News Coverage
Source for the 15-day meet requirement, union leaders’ statements that they are preparing for strike votes, and the 6.4-billion-dollar underfunding figure as characterized by the unions in this report (not an independently verified accounting).
Education unions serve notice to bargain, begin countdown for contract talks with province
CBC News · 2026-06-03 · Research source · Tier 2 · News Coverage
Source for the bargaining countdown following notice to bargain.
School Boards Collective Bargaining Act, 2014, S.O. 2014, c. 5
CanLII · 2014 · Government source · Tier 1 · Ontario Government
The statute governing two-tier central and local bargaining in Ontario school boards, including the Crown’s role and the conciliation route into a lawful strike position.
Equal access to education for students with disabilities during strikes (fact sheet)
Ontario Human Rights Commission · Government source · Tier 1 · Ontario Government
The governing human-rights guidance for work stoppages involving educational assistants. Sets out the shared duty on government, school boards and unions to put contingency plans in place, and confirms that interference with a collective agreement does not constitute undue hardship.
OSBCU 2026 Central Bargaining Update #6
Ontario School Board Council of Unions · 2026-08-06 · Research source · Tier 2 · Advocacy Organization
Source for the August 6 filing of the formal OLRB scope application ("today we filed an application with the Ontario Labour Relations Board (OLRB) asking it to determine which issues belong within the scope of central bargaining"), for OSBCU’s statement that it cannot say how long the OLRB process will take, and for OSBCU’s account of the employer’s condition for returning to the table. Also the source for locals being asked to sign strike pledges - a pledge is not a strike vote, and no strike vote is reported.
Letter to the Crown and CEA re: Request to commence central bargaining on agreed central scope items
Ontario School Board Council of Unions · 2026-08-06 · Research source · Tier 2 · Advocacy Organization
OSBCU president Joe Tigani’s written request that bargaining proceed on items both sides already agree are central, while the OLRB decides the disputed items. Indexed on the OSBCU news listing.
Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation · 2026-03-02 · Research source · Tier 2 · Advocacy Organization
OSSTF mirror of the March 2 joint call, and the source for the statement that the Minister of Education has authority to allow bargaining to begin up to 180 days before the agreements expire.
Human Rights Code, R.S.O. 1990, c. H.19
Government of Ontario · Government source · Tier 1 · Ontario Government
Section 1 (equal treatment in services, including education) and section 17 (duty to accommodate).
Négociations 2026 - Personnel enseignant régulier et suppléant
Association des enseignantes et des enseignants franco-ontariens · Research source · Tier 2 · Advocacy Organization
AEFO public bargaining-status page. Confirms a temporary pause while the Ontario Labour Relations Board decides the central-versus-local scope question, and states that current working conditions remain in place until a new collective agreement is signed.
‘We are going to fight’: Ontario teachers’ unions mull strike action as bargaining talks stall
CP24 · 2026-08-18 · Research source · Tier 2 · News Coverage
Source for ETFO president David Mastin’s statement that job action is under consideration but not imminent ("one step at a time"), OSSTF president Martha Hradowy’s "Let us bargain", and the Ministry of Education’s statement that it remains ready to continue discussions on the scope of central versus local issues. No hearing date is given.
Ontario teachers without new contract as talks between province and unions stall
CHCH News · 2026-08-19 · Research source · Tier 2 · News Coverage
Source for the table-by-table picture on August 19: ETFO and OSSTF not currently bargaining, and OECTA the only major union still engaged in negotiations. Also the source for the unions’ characterisation that the government is seeking to move historically local items, such as staff transfers and surplus decisions, to the central table.
What stalled negotiations between Ontario and teachers' unions mean for back to school
CBC News · 2026-08-31 · Research source · Tier 2 · News Coverage
Source for ETFO and OSSTF talks being stalled on the central-versus-local scope dispute, Martha Hradowy’s estimate that the Labour Board process could take "weeks, if not months", the Ministry spokesperson’s statement that it is "at all times ready to continue discussions on local versus central issues before proceeding to the next stage", and a labour-studies expert’s observation that there cannot be job action until there is actual bargaining. No hearing date had been scheduled.
Fight Ford: province-wide protests
Ontario School Board Council of Unions · 2026-08-24 · Research source · Tier 2 · Advocacy Organization
OSBCU’s call for members to rally across Ontario on August 29, 2026 to "defend public education". Participant numbers are not published. No strike vote is announced.
Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (joint release of the five central unions) · 2026-09-01 · Research source · Tier 2 · Advocacy Organization
Signed by the presidents of AEFO, ETFO, OECTA, OSBCU and OSSTF/FEESO. Source for the statement that teachers and education workers will welcome students back without new contracts, and for the unions’ characterisation of the Minister of Education’s earlier remarks ("optimistic" that deals could be reached before Labour Day; "relative peace"). It is one side’s statement: the Minister’s remarks are recorded here as the unions’ characterisation, not as verified quotations. It announces no strike vote and no job action, and does not mention special education. Mirrored at osbcu.ca.
Putting Student Achievement First Act, 2026, S.O. 2026, c. 4
Legislative Assembly of Ontario · 2026 · Government source · Tier 1 · Ontario Government
Official enacted text and status. Bill 101 received Royal Assent as S.O. 2026, c. 4. It changes the employer bargaining agency for English public and Catholic boards to the Council of Ontario Directors of Education and adds provisions limiting personal liability, causes of action and remedies in specified circumstances. The enacted text preserves judicial review and constitutional remedies in specified provisions and preserves Crown vicarious liability under section 17.2.
Hansard Transcript, April 14, 2026
Legislative Assembly of Ontario · 2026-04-14 · Government source · Tier 1 · Ontario Government
Official record of Opposition Leader and Davenport MPP Marit Stiles asking why the Minister of Education needed immunity in Bill 101, and the Minister describing the restructuring of employer-side bargaining.
OSBCU 2026 Central Bargaining Update #7 – September 2, 2026
Ontario School Board Council of Unions · 2026-09-02 · Research source · Tier 2 · Advocacy Organization
Source for the September 2 mediation session at the Ontario Labour Relations Board on the central-scope dispute ending without agreement ("It was clear very early in the day that there was no way that we could reach agreement on central scope"), for the dispute proceeding to a full Board hearing with a decision OSBCU says "should be issued this fall," and for OSBCU’s planned September 16 province-wide day of action, a leadership conference running September 18 through September 20, and October 24 rallies. No strike vote is mentioned.
Ontario teachers set to return to classroom without new contracts
CP24 · 2026-09-02 · Research source · Tier 2 · News Coverage
Source for OECTA president René Jansen in de Wal’s statement that a strike vote is not a strike and that "98 per cent of labour disputes get settled without a strike," and for schools returning September 8 without new contracts.
Ontario teachers will be without a contract as school returns but education minister very optimistic
AM800/CKLW · 2026-08-20 · Research source · Tier 2 · News Coverage
Source for Education Minister Paul Calandra’s quoted statement "I still remain very optimistic" and that the school year "will start as scheduled," for OECTA having completed ground rules without finalizing central scope, and for ETFO president David Mastin’s statement that an OLRB scope ruling could take weeks or months.
Standing Committee on Social Policy Transcript, April 30, 2026
Legislative Assembly of Ontario · 2026-04-30 · Government source · Tier 1 · Ontario Government
Official clause-by-clause record. MPP Chandra Pasma challenged the accountability and liability provisions and objected to boards covering supervisor legal expenses, including for criminal proceedings.
Ontario English Catholic teachers schedule strike vote amid stalled bargaining
The Canadian Press / CityNews · 2026-09-14 · Research source · Tier 2 · News Coverage
Named-secondary report of an OECTA member communication. Vote scheduled November 12–13, not a strike announcement. Underlying member circular not independently retrieved.
OSBCU 2026 Central Bargaining Update #8 — September 10, 2026
CUPE-OSBCU · 2026-09-11 · Research source · Tier 2 · Advocacy Organization
Bulletin dated September 10, posted September 11. September 17 is case management; full-hearing dates are not provided. September 16 workplace action, September 18–20 leadership conference and October 24 rallies are separate events.
Bargaining Bulletin #4: Together for Publicly Funded Education
OPSEU/SEFPO · 2026-09-03 · Research source · Tier 2 · Advocacy Organization
OPSEU reports a separate July 29 scope impasse and OLRB referral. Does not establish that OSBCU’s September 17 date applies to OPSEU.
O. Reg. 50/26 — The 2026 Round of Collective Bargaining
Ontario e-Laws · Government source · Tier 1 · Ontario Government
Sections 3–8 identify distinct education-worker arrangements. Five named organizations are not a census of central bargaining tables.
Ontario Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development · Government source · Tier 1 · Ontario Government
A strike vote and other legal preconditions are separate. Do not infer a legal strike position from a scheduled vote or case-management event.
Method
This tool does not predict a strike. No strike vote has been held in the 2026 round and no job action has been scheduled. What it does is map each support your child receives to the staff group that ordinarily delivers it, so you know which questions to ask and of whom.
The rights language comes from the Ontario Human Rights Commission’s fact sheet on equal access to education for students with disabilities during strikes, together with sections 1 and 17 of the Ontario Human Rights Code. The Commission’s position is that government, school boards and unions each have an active duty to plan for continued access, and that interference with a collective agreement does not amount to undue hardship.
Nothing you enter is transmitted or stored. The letter is generated in your browser.
For the wider picture, read our briefing on the 2026 bargaining round or check the live tracker.
Next Steps
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