{"id":570780,"date":"2026-03-30T13:32:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T13:32:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/570780\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T13:32:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T13:32:09","slug":"air-canada-ceo-michael-rousseau-to-retire-in-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/570780\/","title":{"rendered":"Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau to retire in 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau will retire by the end of the third quarter of 2026, closing out nearly two decades in senior leadership roles at the country\u2019s largest airline. <\/p>\n

The company\u2019s board announced the decision Monday<\/a>, noting Rousseau will remain in the top job and continue serving on the board until his departure.<\/p>\n

Succession planning has been a priority for more than two years, Air Canada said, with a structured internal development program already in place for high\u2011potential executives. A global external search began in January 2026 to identify additional candidates capable of leading the Montreal\u2011based airline.<\/p>\n

Rousseau has agreed to remain available after his retirement to support a smooth transition, the board said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has been my great honour to work with the dedicated and talented people of Air Canada and to represent our outstanding organization, including as chair of the Star Alliance chief executive board and on the board of directors of the International Air Transport Association,\u201d Rousseau said via a news release. \u201cI look forward to supporting our company during this important transition period.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rousseau exits amid renewed scrutiny of Air Canada\u2019s bilingual obligations<\/p>\n

Board chair Vagn S\u00f8rensen praised Rousseau\u2019s long tenure, citing his leadership through the 2007\u20132008 financial crisis, the COVID\u201119 pandemic, the acquisition of Aeroplan, and efforts to restore the solvency of Air Canada\u2019s pension plans. S\u00f8rensen added that the company\u2019s upcoming annual general meeting will further recognize Rousseau\u2019s contributions and \u201clegacy of financial strength.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rousseau\u2019s retirement announcement follows weeks of controversy tied to the deadly Air Canada Jazz crash<\/a> at New York\u2019s LaGuardia Airport, which killed two pilots, including Quebecer Antoine Forest. <\/p>\n

In the aftermath, Rousseau released a four\u2011minute condolence video delivered almost entirely in English<\/a> \u2014 a decision that drew swift condemnation from French politicians, federal leaders and the public. Quebec Premier Fran\u00e7ois Legault later called for Rousseau\u2019s resignation and argued that his inability to speak French disrespected francophone employees and customers.<\/p>\n

Prime Minister Mark Carney said<\/a> the English\u2011only message showed a \u201clack of judgment and lack of compassion,\u201d stressing that Air Canada has a responsibility to communicate in both official languages. Rousseau later apologized, acknowledging that despite years of lessons, he remains unable to express himself adequately in French.<\/p>\n

Rousseau was appointed Air Canada\u2019s president and chief executive officer in February 2021, succeeding longtime CEO Calin Rovinescu.<\/p>\n

\"\"An Air Canada logo is seen on a partition at Vancouver International Airport, in Richmond, B.C., on Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Darryl Dyck.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau will retire by the end of the third quarter of 2026, closing out…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":570781,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194292],"tags":[49,48,2338],"class_list":["post-570780","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-montreal","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-montreal"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/570780","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=570780"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/570780\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/570781"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=570780"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=570780"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=570780"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}