Air Canada said on Monday that Chief Executive Michael Rousseau will retire later this year, after facing heavy criticism over an English-only condolence message following a fatal collision at New York’s LaGuardia Airport that killed two pilots.
The Montreal-based carrier said Rousseau informed the board he will step down by the end of the third quarter. Air Canada’s chairman, Vagn Sorenson, thanked him for years of service in roles including chief financial officer, deputy CEO and CEO, praising his leadership through the 2007–2008 financial crisis, the pandemic, the Aeroplan acquisition, the restoration of pension plan solvency, and efforts to improve customer focus and employee well-being. “We are grateful for the determined leadership he has provided,” Sorenson said.
Rousseau said it had been “my great honor to work with the dedicated and talented people of Air Canada and to represent our outstanding organization,” and that he looked forward to supporting the company “during this important transition period.”
The decision follows a backlash after Rousseau posted a condolence video in English with French subtitles after the LaGuardia accident. One of the pilots killed, Antoine Forest, was a French-speaking Quebecer; the other, Mackenzie Gunther, was primarily English-speaking. Because Canada is officially bilingual and Quebec is predominantly French-speaking, the English-only delivery drew sharp criticism.
Quebec’s Premier François Legault noted that Rousseau had pledged to learn French upon his promotion to CEO in 2021 and called for his resignation. The Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages reported receiving hundreds of complaints about the incident. Mark Carney also said the absence of a French message demonstrated a lack of compassion and judgment, and that people were right to be disappointed.
Rousseau apologized, saying he was saddened that his limited French had “diverted attention from the profound grief” of those affected and acknowledging, “Despite many lessons over several years, unfortunately, I am still unable to express myself adequately in French. I sincerely apologize for this, but I am continuing my efforts to improve.”
Historically, language has been a sensitive issue in the region: the area that became Quebec was part of New France until Britain completed its conquest in the Seven Years’ War in 1763, and linguistic tensions have continued since.
Edited by: Rana Taha