A tentative deal with border workers averted a CBSA strike

In June 2024, the federal government and unions representing more than 9,000 Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) employees reached a tentative collective agreement. The deal headed off job action that carriers feared would slow trucks at the border.

How it unfolded

• In late May, the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) said 96% of its CBSA members had voted to strike. They had been without a contract for more than two years.
• Talks began on June 3. The union's first deadline was 4 p.m. on June 7. It was pushed back as mediation continued, and later extended to 12:01 a.m. on June 14.
• PSAC and the Customs and Immigration Union announced the tentative agreement on June 11. The Treasury Board said it included wage increases and other benefits.

The unions had sought wage alignment with other law enforcement agencies, flexible remote work options, better retirement benefits and stronger workplace protections.

Trucking's concerns

Before the deal, the Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) urged Ottawa to prevent a disruption. It warned that a border slowdown, on top of unsettled rail labour talks, would hit just-in-time sectors such as auto manufacturing, and goods such as pharmaceuticals and food that have limited inventories.

CBSA said 90% of frontline border services officers were designated essential and would keep staffing ports of entry during a strike. Mike Burkhart, C.H. Robinson's vice-president for Canada, said trucks faced waits of four to five hours during CBSA job action in 2021.