Posted on 03/30/2026 8:24:26 AM PDT by DFG
Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau is stepping down after facing heated backlash for a video statement he made almost entirely in English after a fatal plane crash earlier this month – snubbing Montreal’s official language of French.
Rousseau, who became CEO in 2021 and served in top positions at the airline for nearly two decades, told the board he will retire by the end of the third quarter of 2026, Air Canada said in a statement Monday.
Asked whether Rousseau’s retirement is tied to the backlash, an Air Canada spokesperson said Rousseau “has reached a natural retirement age” and that his plans to quit later this year are consistent with the board’s CEO succession planning.
His resignation follows widespread outrage in Quebec, where the provincial legislature voted in favor of a motion calling for him to exit the company as the region’s Francophones blasted his majority-English video statement as disrespectful.
In a four-minute video, Rousseau expressed his “deepest sorrow for everyone affected” in the crash at LaGuardia Airport – which killed both pilots and hospitalized 41 others – though the only words he spoke in French were “bonjour” at the beginning and “merci” at the end.
His comments fueled a PR crisis for the airline, which was already in hot water following the fatal collision, as thousands of complaints were filed with the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages in Canada.
Canada’s national airline is based in Montreal, where the majority language is French, and it is also subject to the Official Languages Act, which requires businesses to provide equal services in English and French.
Many Canadians also pointed out that Antoine Forest, 30, one of the two pilots killed in the collision, grew up in Coteau-du-Lac – a city in southwestern Quebec where many residents speak French.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
2 people are dead, but Quebec is bitching that the CEO didn’t speak French
Canada 2026
:(
I guess he never saw Pontypool.
Some people don't have enough to do, they complain about everything.
Maybe their dog peed in their cornflakes or something....
We used to do business with a large aerospace company in the 1980-1990s HQ in Montreal. I visited their place in 1995, they took every chance to speak in French. They thought is a good business practice, what they didn’t know and I didn’t lead on was that I also speak French. Of course this is but one example but overall and I say this based on years of experience, they were a bunch of linguistic pricks. Funny thing, their company was bought out by an American company and moved to Georgia. Now they all speak English.
Canada should split into two countries: English-speaking and French-speaking. Imagine the saving of having the signage in only one language. Not to mention how the English-speaking Canada will thrive apart from the dissatisfied Francophiles.
Quebecers are among those honorary “people of color” whose nationalism the Lefties support (along with the Basque, Irish, Scottish, Welsh, Cornish, Breton, Manx, Corsican, etc.).
T’en fais pas une montagne, le Frenchie.
And you thought we were F'ed up? What could daily operations in this office possibly consist of other than retribution assignments?
If I recall correctly, some provinces require signage to have French first and in a larger font than English.
J’en ai assez de ces betises. Au revoir!
(I’ve had enough of this nonsense. See you later!)
What if he made two recordings one English and one French and ran them sequentially — then the outrage would be which one ran before the other.
- - - - - - -
So run them both at the same time.
So Air Canada is responsible for a fire truck in the middle of the runway?
But when will Hindi be required and larger?!
Canada is dead.
They just don’t realize it
For the United States, I’d like to see it codified that English is the official language. It’s a small step towards unity as Americans.
The elephant-in-the-room here is the Official Languages Act (1969), which orders FedGov to do all top-level business in both English and French
So, all Department heads must be bilingual ... which immediately excludes 70% of Canada’s people, who only speak English ... virtually every department head and deputies are all from Quebec (a source of a LOT of Western resentment, btw)
And since Air Canada is owned by FedGov, its head must be bilingual too
Welcome to the ongoing Great Canadian BS Debate
What a way to run an airline (and a country)!
Is it possible the ambulance driver spoke French only ?
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