Overview
- Air Canada said Monday that Michael Rousseau, 68, will retire by the end of the third quarter of 2026 and remain in place during the transition.
- The company said its CEO search is underway and will weigh candidates’ ability to communicate in French as a formal criterion.
- The move follows a condolence video on the LaGuardia crash in which Rousseau spoke almost entirely in English, prompting a 92–0 motion in Quebec’s National Assembly urging his resignation and criticism from Prime Minister Mark Carney for poor judgment and compassion.
- The March 22 collision involved an Air Canada Express jet that struck a fire truck after landing at New York’s LaGuardia Airport, killing pilots Antoine Forest of Quebec and Mackenzie Gunther and injuring dozens of people.
- The Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages received more than 1,800 complaints about the video, and a parliamentary committee requested Rousseau’s testimony as public and political scrutiny of the airline’s language practices intensified.