Shipments at Canadian National Railway Co. and Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. ground to a halt Thursday after months of increasingly bitter negotiations, threatening to upend supply chains still reeling from pandemic-related disruptions and a port strike last year.
Canada has an active history of rail strikes dating back to at least the early 20th century.
Here are some of the most recent job actions at the country’s two main freight railways, Canadian National Railway Co. and Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd., formerly known as CP Rail, as the clock ticks down to a potential work stoppage this Thursday.
Canadian Pacific workers went on strike for nine days before the Conservative government ordered them back to work via legislation.
A two-day walkout by Canadian Pacific employees ended under threat of a back-to-work bill under the government of then-prime minister Stephen Harper, with the two sides agreeing to binding arbitration.
A strike by 3,000 CP Rail engineers and conductors ended 16 hours after it began as the parties settled on a tentative four-year deal.
A strike by more than 3,000 workers at Canadian National gripped the country for eight days before they reached a collective agreement.
Canadian Pacific workers hit the picket lines for 60 hours that March before a tentative contract with the company was hammered out.
About 9,300 workers were locked out on Aug. 22 after the rail companies and their employees failed to agree on new contracts. Negotiations resumed hours later.
