Canadian Rail Crisis Averts Economic Chaos as CN Resumes Operations

Canadian National Railway resumed operations, ending a major stoppage that threatened North American economies. Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd.'s trains remain halted as labor disputes continue. The government mandated arbitration to prevent severe economic impacts. The union plans to challenge the arbitration order and hold a rally in Calgary.

One of Canada's two major freight railroads resumed operations on Friday, ending a stoppage that threatened economic stability across North America.

Canadian National trains began moving at 7 a.m. nationwide, according to CN spokesperson Jonathan Abecassis.

However, Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd.'s trains remain stationary as the union representing the railway's 10,000 employees plans to challenge a government order to enter arbitration to resolve a contract dispute.

The Teamsters said the work stoppage remains ongoing pending an order from the Canada Industrial Relations Board, with a hearing scheduled for Friday morning, though the timing of a decision is unclear.

On Thursday afternoon, the Canadian government forced the two major railroads into arbitration with the labor union to avert possibly severe economic consequences in Canada and the US if the trains remain sidelined. This came more than 16 hours after Canadian National and CPKC locked out workers over an impasse on a labor agreement. Both railroads said they are working to resume service as soon as possible.

The unprecedented work stoppage led Canada's labor minister to refer the dispute to the Canada Industrial Relations Board for binding arbitration. The union and Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. officials met with the board on Thursday and plan to meet again Friday.

CPKC expressed readiness to discuss service resumption at the CIRB meeting, but the union wants to challenge the constitutionality of the labor minister's direction. The union is preparing its challenge but it's unclear how soon that will happen. In the meantime, it plans to hold a rally at CPKC headquarters in Calgary on Friday morning.

It remains unclear if union members will return to work on CPKC while the challenge of the minister's order proceeds in court. The government directed the railroads into arbitration with the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference to end the lockout that began early Thursday after failed contract negotiations.

No further comments can be provided on these proceedings, according to board spokesperson Jean-Daniel Tardif. The work stoppage halted all Canadian freight rail service, affecting logistics worth over $1 billion CAD daily and impacting more than 30,000 commuters in Canada. Companies across industries in both Canada and the US were alarmed by the crisis, given the significant volume of goods moving via rail between the two nations.