Air Canada CEO stepping down after backlash over his failure to speak French
Air Canada’s CEO is stepping down after a video he shared drew fierce criticism for being available only in English. The airline shared a statement Monday saying Michael Rousseau will retire by the end of the third quarter in 2026.
Air Canada said Rousseau is “departing after nearly two decades of strong and dedicated leadership that has reinforced Air Canada’s place as a leader in the airline industry domestically and globally.”
French controversy
The announcement came a week after an Air Canada jet collided with a fire truck on a runway at New York’s LaGuardia Airport, killing the pilot and copilot and injuring dozens of passengers and crew members.
Following the crash, Rousseau shared a recorded video message, offering condolences to the pilots’ families. But he spoke only in English, with both English and French subtitles.
As Straight Arrow News previously reported, Air Canada is headquartered in Montreal, where French is the official language. Under Canadian law, the airline’s communications must be in both French and English.
Canadian politicians criticized Rousseau’s English-only statement, with some questioning why he had not followed through on promises to become fluent in French.
“I am very disappointed,” Prime Minister Mark Carney said of Rousseau, and other leaders and the Quebec National Assembly also spoke out in criticism.
“The CEO of Air Canada must seriously ask himself whether he has not clearly disqualified himself for the position he holds,” Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet wrote on X.
In its announcement Monday, Air Canada said its board of directors has begun the search for its new CEO and will evaluate candidates based on several factors, “including the ability to communicate in French.”
How many people in Canada speak French?
With the controversy surrounding Rousseau and his lack of French speaking, it’s important to note how many Canadians actually speak French.
Officially, Canada has two languages: French and English. The dominant language, however, varies by region. In Montreal, where Air Canada is headquartered, and Quebec as a whole, much of the population speaks French.
According to Statista, in 2021, more than 71% of people living in Montreal spoke French as their first language. Just over 20% used English as their first language, and about 6.7% considered both primary languages.
The province of Quebec has the highest percentage of French speakers — about 84%, which equates to more than seven million people.
Outside Quebec, Ontario has the largest French-speaking population, with more than half a million French speakers.
Across the country, the Canadian government reports that about 22% speak primarily French, 76% primarily English, and 18% speak both languages.
Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
