Air Canada CEO to retire after condolence-video controversy

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Nadine YousifSenior Canada reporter

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Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau has faced criticism over his French language skills.

The CEO of Air Canada will retire later this year, after being criticised for failing to speak French in a condolence video following last week’s fatal collision at LaGuardia Airport that killed two of the airline’s pilots.

Michael Rousseau informed the airline that he will be stepping down by the end of the company’s third quarter, Air Canada said in a statement on Monday.

Rousseau had faced calls to resign after delivering his condolences in English only. One of the pilots who died, Antoine Forest, was from French-speaking Quebec.

He later apologised and said he was unable to express himself “adequately” in French - an official language in Canada - despite taking lessons over the years.

Announcing his retirement, Rousseau said: “It has been my great honour to work with the dedicated and talented people of Air Canada and to represent our outstanding organization.”

“I look forward to supporting our company during this important transition period,” he added.

• Air Canada CEO ‘deeply saddened’ his English-only message distracted from victims of crash
• What we know about the LaGuardia Airport crash

In the same statement, Air Canada said Rousseau is stepping down “after nearly two decades of strong and dedicated leadership” with the airline, which is headquartered in Montreal.

Rousseau’s English-only condolence video was criticised by Canadian politicians, including Prime Minister Mark Carney who said it showed “a lack of compassion”.

Quebec Premier François Legault said he believed Rousseau should step down if he is unable to speak French.

Watch: Air Canada message lacks “judgement” and “compassion”, says Mark Carney

The condolence video was released after an Air Canada plane collided with a fire truck at LaGuardia airport in New York shortly after landing, killing Forest and another pilot, Mackenzie Gunther.

Rousseau expressed “deepest sorrow for everyone affected” in the video, which was posted on X and included both English and French subtitles.

He was quickly criticised afterwards for failing to speak French in it, and was summoned to Ottawa by Canada’s parliamentary committee on Official Languages to “explain himself” before MPs.

Rousseau later apologised in a written statement released in both English and French, saying he was deeply saddened that his inability to speak French “diverted attention” from the pilots’ grieving families and Air Canada staff.

He added that his French remains weak “despite many lessons over the years”.

“I sincerely apologize for this, but I am continuing my efforts to improve,” he said.

Rousseau, who lives in Montreal but is an anglophone, had come under fire for his French language skills in the past, including shortly after he was appointed as CEO of Air Canada in 2021.

At the time, Rousseau apologised and committed to improving his French.

Air Canada began as a federal public corporation and has been private since 1988. It is subject to Canada’s Official Languages Act, however, and announcements on board planes are made in both English and French.

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