Union Workers Rally At Vancouver Airport Over Ottawa’s Privatization Plans

Unionized workers gathered at Vancouver International Airport (YVR) on Saturday (Oct. 31) to protest the federal government’s proposal to bring private investors into the operation of Canada’s largest airports, warning the move could lead to higher costs for travellers and reduced job security.

Members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) are demanding greater transparency from Ottawa over plans announced by Prime Minister Mark Carney in September.

The proposal would open Canada’s four largest airports — Vancouver, Toronto Pearson, Montréal-Trudeau and Calgary — to private investment through long-term operating concessions, while the federal government would retain ownership of the land and assets.

“We want to know why,” Barry Tchir, national president of the Union of Canadian Transportation Employees, told CBC News.

“YVR works. Other airports work. They run efficiently. They make profit that goes back into the community and back into the infrastructure of the building and maintains the areas. Why are we risking all of this?”

Carney has argued that attracting private capital to major airports would generate revenue and allow Ottawa to redirect billions of dollars toward smaller regional airports and other infrastructure projects.

However, union representatives say the government has yet to explain how the proposed changes would affect airport employees, travellers and local communities.

YVR currently operates as a non-profit airport authority, paying the federal government rent under a long-term ground lease. According to its 2025 financial statements, the airport paid nearly $78 million in ground rent last year.

John Gradek, an aviation management lecturer at McGill University, told CBC that concerns about wages and working conditions are legitimate, given the financial returns private operators would be expected to deliver.

He also suggested travellers could see airports place greater emphasis on higher-end retail and dining options as operators look to increase revenue.

However, he noted that private capital could help finance major airport improvements without adding to public debt.

Canadian pension funds, which already invest in airports internationally, could also find opportunities in the proposed model.

Airline Warns of Higher Passenger Fees

As previously reported, the Canadian government has promised safeguards against rising airport fees as it moves forward with the proposal.

But one airline executive is calling for clear regulations to prevent additional costs from being passed on to travellers.

Speaking with the Canadian Press last month, WestJet CEO Alexis von Hoensbroech said international examples demonstrate both the potential benefits and risks of private airport management.

Having witnessed “the good and the bad” of airport privatization, von Hoensbroech cautioned against allowing operators unrestricted control over fees.

“If you just privatize it and then you just let the market play out, it’s a risky game because a private investor will try to maximize the returns and an airport is a local monopoly,” he told CP.

“The temptation just to increase passenger fees would be really high,” he added, pointing to London’s Heathrow Airport and some Australian airports “where it has really gone in the wrong direction.”

Labour organizations, including the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) and CUPE, have also raised concerns about the potential impact on airport workers, citing international examples such as Sydney Airport, where the workforce was reportedly reduced by 40 per cent.

They warn that privatization in Canada could lead to job losses, wage suppression, increased outsourcing and the restructuring of service contracts