Canada's 2 major freight railroads come to a full stop without new labor contracts

Both of Canada's major freight railroads have come to a full stop because of a contract dispute with their workers, and businesses fear widespread harm if the trains don't resume running quickly.

Canadian National and CPKC railroads both locked out their employees after the deadline of 12:01 a.m. Eastern Thursday passed without new agreements with the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference that represents some 10,000 engineers, conductors and dispatchers.

More than 30,000 commuters in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal will be scrambling to find a new way into work because their trains won't be able to operate over CPKC's tracks while the railroad is shut down.


Business groups had urged the government to intervene, but Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has declined to force both sides into arbitration yet.

CN said it made one final offer that it was waiting on a response for. CPKC spokesperson Patrick Waldron said the union rejected its last offer that CEO Keith Creel made at the table in person. Both railroads have offered binding arbitration as a way to resolve the contract dispute.

Many companies across all industries rely on railroads to deliver their raw materials and finished products, so without regular rail service they may have to cut back or even close.

That's why the U.S. government kept rail workers from going on strike two years ago and forced them to accept a contract despite their concerns about demanding schedules and the lack of paid sick time.

All rail traffic in Canada and all shipments crossing the U.S. border have stopped, although CPKC and Canadian National's trains will continue to operate in the U.S. and Mexico.

Canada's railroads have sometimes shut down briefly in the past during contract negotiations - most recently CPKC was offline for a couple days in March 2022 - but it is rare for both railroads to stop at the same time. The impact on businesses will be magnified now because both CN and CPKC have stopped.